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Table 5.3: The Global Warming Potential (GWP) of selected greenhouse gases, relative to Carbon Dioxide (CO2) ( ±35%).
| Species | Chemical Formula | Lifetime (years) | Global Warming Potential (GWP) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 years | 100 years | 500 years | |||
| Carbon dioxide | CO2 | variable | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Methane* | CH4 | 12±3** | 56 | 21 | 6.5 |
| Nitrous oxide | N2O | 120 | 280 | 310 | 170 |
| CFC-11 | CFCl3 | 50±5 | 5,000 | 4,000 | 1,400 |
| CFC-12 | CF2Cl2 | 102 | 7,900 | 8,500 | 4,200 |
| CFC-113 | C2F3Cl3 | 85 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 2,300 |
| Halon-1301 | CF3Br | 65 | 6,200 | 5,600 | 2,200 |
| HCFC-22 | CF2HCl | 13.3 | 4,300 | 1,700 | 520 |
| HCFC-141b | C2FH3Cl2 | 9.4 | 1,800 | 630 | 200 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | CCl4 | 42 | 2,000 | 1,400 | 500 |
| Methyl chloroform | CH3CCl3 | 5.4±0.6 | 360 | 110 | 35 |
| HFC-23 | CHF3 | 264 | 9,100 | 11,700 | 9,800 |
| HFC-134a | CH2FCF3 | 14.6 | 3,400 | 1,300 | 420 |
| HFC-152a | C2H4F2 | 1.5 | 460 | 140 | 42 |
| Perfluoromethane | CF4 | 50,000 | 4,400 | 6,500 | 10,000 |
| Perfluoroethane | C2F6 | 10,000 | 6,200 | 9,200 | 14,000 |
| Sulphur hexafluoride | SF6 | 3,200 | 16,300 | 23,900 | 34,900 |
* The methane GWP includes indirect effects of tropospheric ozone production and stratospheric water vapour production, as in IPCC (1994).
** The GWP figure does not include 'indirect effects'.
Source: IPCC (1996)
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