What are the six greenhouse gases?
Three of the major greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), each of which is found in nature. In contrast, three of the greenhouse gases are only emitted through industrial sources: hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). These are potent greenhouse gases and can persist in the atmosphere for many decades, but they do not occur in nature. For modeling and forecasting purposes, greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide are converted into their CO2-equivalents.
