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Climate Science Glossary
Return to glossary listAGWP
Also: Absolute Global Warming Potential
Absolute Global Warming Potential
Global Warming Potential (GWP) measures the relative warming effect caused by adding amounts of different Greenhouse Gases to the atmosphere. This takes into account the different properties of each gas, how much of that gas is already in the atmosphere, and importanly the gases lifetime - how long it lasts in the atmosphere.
This can be expressed as the absolute warming effect - the AGWP. Or it can be expressed as a relative warming effect, usually relative to adding an equal amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2). This is commonly just callled Global Warming Potential (GWP)
Definition based on (revised from) IPCC AR4.
All IPCC definitions taken from Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Annex I, Glossary, pp. 941-954. Cambridge University Press.
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