Capacity of a greenhouse gas to influence radiative forcing, expressed in terms of a reference substance (for example, CO2-equivalent units) and specified time horizon (e.g. GWP 20, GWP 100, GWP 500, for 20, 100, and 500 years respectively). It relates to the capacity to influence changes in the global average surface-air temperature and subsequent change in various climate parameters and their effects, such as storm frequency and intensity, rainfall intensity and frequency of flooding, etc.

EC, 2013, Commission Recommendation of 9 April 2013 on the use of common methods to measure and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations. OJ L124, 04.05.2013, pp. 1-210.

Source category: EC Policy Documents

It is a term used to describe the relative potency, molecule for molecule, of a greenhouse gas, taking account of how long it remains active in the atmosphere.

Eurostat b, Glossary, accessed 20 December 2023

Source category: EC Technical Documents

An index measuring the radiative forcing following an emission of a unit mass of a given substance, accumulated over a chosen time horizon, relative to that of the reference substance, carbon dioxide (CO2 ). The GWP thus represents the combined effect of the differing times these substances remain in the atmosphere, and their effectiveness in causing radiative forcing. See also Greenhouse gas emission metric.

Source category: International Organisations