Term:CO2eq: Difference between revisions

625 bytes removed ,  20 May 2023
no edit summary
(Created page with "CO<sub>2eq</sub> stands for "CO<sub>2</sub> equivalent". It's a way to measure the relative strengths of different greenhouse gases. In other words: "Emitting 1 ton of [whichever greenhouse gas] is equivalent to emitting how many tons of CO<sub>2</sub>?" See main page on greenhouse gases for tables with the CO<sub>2eq</sub> values for each gas. Also note that the use of CO<sub>2eq</sub> implies a standard ''timescale'', because some gases stay longer in the at...")
 
No edit summary
 
Line 1: Line 1:
CO<sub>2eq</sub> stands for "CO<sub>2</sub> equivalent". It's a way to measure the relative strengths of different [[greenhouse gases]].
CO<sub>2eq</sub> stands for "CO<sub>2</sub> equivalent".


In other words: "Emitting 1 ton of [whichever greenhouse gas] is equivalent to emitting how many tons of CO<sub>2</sub>?"
Emitting some amount of any [[greenhouse gas]], is equivalent to emitting some amount of CO<sub>2</sub>.


See main page on [[greenhouse gases]] for tables with the CO<sub>2eq</sub> values for each gas.
This is calculated based on the [[Term:GWP|GWP]]<sup>[global warming potential]</sup> of the gas involved.
 
Also note that the use of CO<sub>2eq</sub> implies a standard ''timescale'', because some gases stay longer in the atmosphere than others. If you ever find that two sources seem to contradict themselves on the CO<sub>2eq</sub> of a given gas, it's probably because they each specify different timescales. The most commonly used timescale is 100 years {{p2|(why)|While it's probably worth considering longer-term timescales, [[climate change]] is currently close to a ''tipping point'', so shorter-term emissions matter more right now.}}.