Carbon (CO2e) Calculations

The CO2e of any GHG is calculated by multiplying the amount of the particular GHG by its global warming potential (GWP). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines the GWP as “how much energy the emissions of one ton of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of one ton of carbon dioxide.”

Gas Compound	​20 Year GWP	100 Year GWP
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)	1	1
Methane (CH4)	84	25
Nitrous Oxide (N2O)	264	​298
HFC-134a	3710	1430
​CFC-11	6900	7390
​Carbon tetraflouride (CF4)	4880	​17200

CO2e = GHG x GWP = 4 tons CH4 x 25 = 100 tons of CO2e

*Methane (CH4) has a GWP of 25, meaning 4 tons of CH4 released into the atmosphere will trap as much heat as 100 tons of CO2