While the recovery of the ozone layer high in the atmosphere is a good thing for the Earth’s environment, ground-level ozone emissions are a far more worrying proposition. According to a study published in the journal Nature ozone has more influence on climate change than previously thought.

While ozone doesn’t act as a direct greenhouse gas, it does damage plants. That damage keeps them from absorbing CO₂ from the atmosphere. As a result higher levels of CO₂ remain in the atmosphere. This groundlevel ozone is formed by sunlight reacting with other greenhouse gasses.

Scientists describe the new findings as showing ozone to be twice as important as previously thought. Some even say the groudlevel effects of ozone may be greater than the effect of ozone higher in the atmosphere keeping the warmth in.

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