Greenhouse gas

How it is used

Usually shortened to GHG in reports and spreadsheets: GHG emissions, GHG inventory, GHG Protocol. The plural is greenhouse gases. Climate reports usually cover carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and several fluorinated gases used in cooling and industry.

Example sentences

1. Agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gases, mainly methane and nitrous oxide.

2. We report our greenhouse gas emissions every year in line with the GHG Protocol.

Common collocations

• greenhouse gas emissions
• reduce greenhouse gases
• GHG Protocol
• fluorinated gases

Related terms

• carbon dioxideA colorless gas, written CO2, released when coal, oil, gas, wood and other carbon-based materials burn. It is the main greenhouse gas produced by human activities.
• methaneA strong greenhouse gas (CH4) released by livestock, rice fields, landfills, coal mines and oil and gas operations. It traps much more heat than CO2 but stays in the air for only about 12 years.
• greenhouse effectThe natural process in which gases in the atmosphere trap some of the sun's heat and keep the Earth warm. Extra gases from human activities make this effect stronger.
• emissionsGases or particles released into the air, for example from vehicles, factories, power plants or farms. In climate work the word usually means greenhouse gases.
• CO2eShort for carbon dioxide equivalent: a unit that expresses the warming effect of different greenhouse gases as the amount of CO2 that would cause the same warming.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• greenhouse gas · Energy & Renewables

More terms: Emissions and Carbon

• carbon footprint
• fossil fuel
• net zero
• carbon neutral
• decarbonization
• carbon offset
• carbon sink
• emission factor
• carbon credit