Term:CO2eq

CO_2eq stands for "CO₂ 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 CO₂?"

See main page on greenhouse gases for tables with the CO_2eq values for each gas.

Also note that the use of CO_2eq 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_2eq of a given gas, it's probably because they each specify different timescales. The most commonly used timescale is 100 years (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..