Glossary:Greenhouse gas (GHG)

From Statistics Explained

Greenhouse gases are a group of gases which are believed to contribute to global warming and climate change. 

There are six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol, an environmental agreement adopted by many of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1997 to curb global warming.

• the non-fluorinated gases:
  • carbon dioxide (CO₂)
  • methane (CH₄)
  • nitrous oxide (N₂O)

• the fluorinated gases:
  • hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
  • perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
  • sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆)

Converting them to carbon dioxide (or CO₂) equivalents makes it possible to compare them and to determine their individual and total contributions to global warming.

External links

• European Environment Agency - Climate change
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Related concepts

• Carbon dioxide emissions
• Climate change
• Kyoto Protocol

Statistical data

• Climate change statistics