What does a high GWP imply?

What does a high GWP imply?

• A. Lower warming impact than CO2
• B. Lower heat-trapping potential than CO2
• C. Higher heat-trapping potential relative to CO2
• D. No impact on climate.

Answer: (C)

Global Warming Potential measures how strongly a greenhouse gas traps heat in the atmosphere compared with CO2 over a specific time period. Since CO2 is the reference with a GWP of 1, a high GWP means that, per unit mass released, the gas will contribute more to warming than CO2 over that horizon. This result comes from the gas’s radiative efficiency (how effectively it absorbs infrared radiation) and how long it stays in the atmosphere. GWP blends these factors into a single number, so a gas with a high GWP has greater heat-trapping potential per kilogram than CO2. For example, gases with very long lifetimes or strong infrared absorption, like SF6, have much higher GWPs than CO2 over the standard 100-year period. Conversely, a low GWP indicates less warming per kilogram than CO2. So, a high GWP implies higher heat-trapping potential relative to CO2.

Global Warming Potential measures how strongly a greenhouse gas traps heat in the atmosphere compared with CO2 over a specific time period. Since CO2 is the reference with a GWP of 1, a high GWP means that, per unit mass released, the gas will contribute more to warming than CO2 over that horizon. This result comes from the gas’s radiative efficiency (how effectively it absorbs infrared radiation) and how long it stays in the atmosphere. GWP blends these factors into a single number, so a gas with a high GWP has greater heat-trapping potential per kilogram than CO2. For example, gases with very long lifetimes or strong infrared absorption, like SF6, have much higher GWPs than CO2 over the standard 100-year period. Conversely, a low GWP indicates less warming per kilogram than CO2. So, a high GWP implies higher heat-trapping potential relative to CO2.