Implications of ozone depletion, with the consequent increases in UV radiation, and interactions of climate change factors are posing many unknowns for life on Earth.Some of these links address the warming effect on Earth by the greenhouse gases, which can also result in cooling the upper atmosphere leading to favourable conditions for stratospheric ozone depletion. The Montreal Protocol, set up to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by phasing out substances that deplete it, the so-called ozone-depleting substances (ODS), has effectively resulted in the control of around 100 ODS. However, some ODS are themselves greenhouse gases, resulting in a significant contribution to the commitments of the Kyoto Protocol, which has focussed on reducing these gases. Although the Montreal Protocol has been highly successful, several issues remain as threats to our climate and quality of life, like the long atmospheric lifetimes of some of the ODS, and the increasing complexity of climate change factors that in some cases may delay ozone recovery and independently change UV radiation levels.This Café Scientifique session will discuss some of the responses to a changing environment, as well as address the negative, useful and modifying effects of an increased UV radiation against a background of interacting climate change factors.Speaker: Professor Janet Bornman is the Director of the International Global Change Centre at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, with over 30 years of experience on the impact of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on plants.