Understanding Global Warming Potentials | co greenhouse gas
Greenhousegases(GHGs)warmtheEarthbyabsorbingenergyandslowingtherateatwhichtheenergyescapestospace;theyactlikeablanketinsulatingtheEarth.DifferentGHGscanhavedifferenteffectsontheEarthswarming.Twokeywaysinwhichthesegasesdifferfromeachotheraretheirabilitytoabsorbenergy(their"radiativeefficiency"),andhowlongtheystayintheatmosphere(alsoknownastheir"lifetime").TheGlobalWarmingPotential(GWP)wasdevelopedtoallowcomparisonsoftheglobalwarmingimpactsofdifferentgases.Specifically,itisameasureofhowmuchene...
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) warm the Earth by absorbing energy and slowing the rate at which the energy escapes to space; they act like a blanket insulating the Earth. Different GHGs can have different effects on the Earths warming. Two key ways in which these gases differ from each other are their ability to absorb energy (their "radiative efficiency"), and how long they stay in the atmosphere (also known as their "lifetime").
The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases. Specifically, it is a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2). The larger the GWP, the more that a given gas warms the Earth compared to CO2 over that time period. The time period usually used for GWPs is 100 years. GWPs provide a common unit of measure, which allows analy...