what is global warming potential

Global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of how much energy the emissions of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) . It is a way to compare the global warming impacts of different gases. Specifically, it measures how much infrared thermal radiation a greenhouse gas added to the atmosphere would absorb over a given time frame, as a multiple of the radiation that would be absorbed by the same mass of added carbon dioxide. 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. The concept of global warming potential is used to balance the ecosystem exchanges of multiple greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. GWPs are calculated using a set time horizon, and all GWPs used for GHG inventory purposes are considered over a 100-year timeframe. Carbon dioxide is taken as the gas of reference and given a 100-year GWP of 1.