Do all greenhouse gases have the same ability to warm the planet?
Some greenhouse gases (GHGs) have greater potential to warm the planet than others. Because carbon dioxide is the most conspicuous greenhouse gas, the potential to warm is defined relative to that of CO2. A substance’s potential to warm the planet depends on its absorption of infrared radiation, the spectral location of its absorbing wavelengths and the atmospheric lifetime of the substance. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) describes the radiative forcing associated with the release of one kilogram of a greenhouse gas relative to that of one kilogram of carbon dioxide. GWP estimates the relative impact of different greenhouse gases on the climate system. Examples: • Carbon dioxide has a GWP of exactly 1. • The GWP of methane is 25. • The GWP of nitrous oxide is 298. • The GWP of some halocarbons exceeds 20,000. The GWP refers to a fixed mass of the greenhouse gas. Although the GWP of carbon dioxide is much less than that of other greenhouse gases, it is present in much larger quantit
