Global warming potential

Stephan Krinke and Yu-Yi Lin

Chapter 84 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, 2026, pp 315-317 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The global warming potential (GWP) index enables standardized measurement and comparison of the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by different greenhouse gases (GHGs) over a given time period. Carbon dioxide is chosen as the reference gas, and the metric unit of GWP is defined as a kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent (kg CO2eq). The infrared absorption capacity of GHG emissions is related to the gases’ characteristic atmospheric lifetime; thus, GWP can be calculated for different time horizons (20, 100, and 500 years), with GWP 100-year as a standard. However, GWP 100-year could lead to overestimation of the effects from short-lived GHGs. Therefore, GWP* is proposed to capture the temporal differences for such gases. Another alternative metric proposed to quantify global warming effects is Global Temperature Potential (GTP). Nevertheless, GWP remains widely used by countries, organizations, and individuals for carbon footprint calculation to identify emission sources and implement strategies for substantial reduction.

Keywords: Greenhouse Gas (GHG); Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA); Midpoint impact category indicator; Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq ); Global warming potential (GWP); Global Temperature Potential (GTP) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035309887
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