Greenhouse gases The main driver of climate change is the greenhouse effect. Some gases in the Earth’s atmosphere act a bit like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping the sun’s heat and stopping it from leaking back into space and causing global warming.
The greenhouse effect is a process in which the temperature of the Earth’s surface increases. When the sun’s energy reaches the earth’s atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone etc.
Greenhouse gases’ are crucial to keeping our planet at a suitable temperature for life. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the heat emitted by the Earth would simply pass outwards from the Earth’s surface into space and the Earth would have an average temperature of about -20°C.
In the United States, most of the emissions of human-caused (anthropogenic) greenhouse gases (GHG) come primarily from burning fossil fuels—coal, natural gas, and petroleum—for energy use.
Several major greenhouse gases that result from human activity are included in U.S. and international estimates of greenhouse gas emissions: Carbon dioxide (CO2) Methane (CH4) Nitrous oxide (N2O) Industrial gases: Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3)
Several major greenhouse gases that result from human activity are included in U.S. and international estimates of greenhouse gas emissions: Carbon dioxide (CO2) Methane (CH4) Nitrous oxide (N2O) Industrial gases: Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3)
Global Warming Potential (100-year): 1 Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. In 2020, CO2 accounted for about 79% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.
The greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms the Earth’s surface. When the Sun’s energy reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and some is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases.
The main gases responsible for the greenhouse effect include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor (which all occur naturally), and fluorinated gases (which are synthetic). Greenhouse gases have different chemical properties and are removed from the atmosphere, over time, by different processes.
The greenhouse effect is the way in which heat is trapped close to Earth’s surface by “greenhouse gases.” These heat-trapping gases can be thought of as a blanket wrapped around Earth, keeping the planet toastier than it would be without them.
