When you hear the term “global warming,” the first greenhouse gas that probably comes to mind is carbon dioxide (CO2). However, there are many other greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere that each contribute to global warming in a unique way. We can compare the relative strength of each gas as a climate warmer by using a metric called Global Warming Potential (GWP).
Global Warming Potential describes the ability of a greenhouse gas to warm the planet compared to CO2. For example, if a gas is 20 times stronger than CO2 at warming the atmosphere on a specific timescale, we would say that it has a GWP of 20.
Which greenhouse gases are the strongest? Swipe through to see how they stack up to CO2!