What does Global Warming Potential?

Answer 1

It's a way to measure the potential of greenhouse gases to warm the atmosphere relative to carbon dioxide.

GWP compares the amount of heat trapped by an amount of the greenhouse gas with the same amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2). GWP is calculated over a period of years, usually 20, 100 or 500 years. The GWP of CO2 is standardised as 1.

Methane (CH4) is calculated as having an GWP of 86 over 20 years, and 34 over 100 years (much more powerful than CO2).

The GWP of a greenhouse gas depends on:

• how much heat it can hold (the absorption of infrared radiation)
  
• in what part of the light spectrum does it work best (the spectral location of its absorbing wavelength)
  
• how long it stays in the atmosphere (its atmospheric lifetime).

Answer 2

Global Warming Potential (GWP) is a measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere over a specific time period, usually 100 years, compared to carbon dioxide. It is used to compare the impact of different gases on global warming and climate change. Gases with higher GWPs are more potent at trapping heat than gases with lower GWPs.