Greenhouse gases are atmospheric constituents that absorb and emit infrared radiation, thereby contributing to the greenhouse effect and Earth’s radiative energy balance. Major greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), ozone (O₃), and various halogenated compounds, along with water vapour (H₂O) as a feedback agent. Their radiative forcing depends on concentration, spectral absorption properties, atmospheric lifetime, and overlap with other absorbers. In climate research, greenhouse gases are quantified via metrics such as global warming potential and effective radiative forcing to assess their contribution to anthropogenic climate change and to inform emissions mitigation strategies.
Global efforts to curb emissions of the potent but short-lived heat-trapping gas methane are doing about as poorly as the more prevalent carbon dioxide, but there's hope for the next five years, U.N. officials said Monday.
Environment
Nov 18, 2025
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The first-ever audited account of the actual amounts of CO2 stored underground by CCS projects globally has been released. It was created by a new international consortium of scientists and industrial partners, including ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 17, 2025
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49
Each year, a single cow can belch about 200 pounds of methane. The powerful greenhouse gas is 27 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. For decades, scientists and farmers have tried to ...
Biotechnology
Nov 17, 2025
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28
Fossil fuels release pollutants into the air when extracted and burned, but there's more to their production than massive oil rigs diving deep into Earth and smoky power plants. Those processes are examples of only the first ...
Environment
Nov 17, 2025
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285
Mangrove ecosystems rank among the most efficient "blue carbon" systems on Earth, capable of absorbing and storing vast quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). However, mangroves also release methane (CH4), a potent ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 14, 2025
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145
The Trump administration has given corporations plenty of convenient excuses to retreat from their climate commitments, with its moves to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, roll back emissions regulations, and scale back ...
Environment
Nov 14, 2025
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Global fossil fuel emissions are projected to rise in 2025 to a new all-time high, with all sources—coal, gas, and oil—contributing to the increase.
Environment
Nov 13, 2025
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93
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to rise by 1.1% in 2025—reaching a record high, according to new research by the Global Carbon Project.
Environment
Nov 12, 2025
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233
Emissions of the greenhouse gas methane from lakes and reservoirs risk doubling by the end of the century due to climate change, according to a new study from Linköping University, Sweden, and NASA Ames Research Center in ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 12, 2025
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60
Global emissions need to peak this year to stay within 1.5°C of global temperature rise since pre-industrial levels. This means that starting now, countries need to emit less greenhouse gases. Emissions also need to be cut ...
Environment
Nov 8, 2025
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