Carbon emissions or greenhouse gas emissions occur through the burning of fossil fuels. To tackle this, the UK Government have committed to achieving Net Zero by no later than 2050 (Climate Change Act, 2008). This means that the UK need to reduce the levels of greenhouse gas emissions to lower than what it once was in 1990.
Why 1990? 1990 was set as the UK’s baseline year. This means the UK must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100% of the 1990 levels (net zero).
Terminology
A lot of the time, when discussing climate change and Net Zero, Greenhouse Gas emissions are referred to as Carbon emissions, or tonnes or kilograms of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent. Carbon Dioxide Equivalent or CO2e is the universal measurement or unit when referring to greenhouse gas emissions.
You are unable to discuss Climate Change, Carbon Reporting, Net Zero, Global Warming or similar without mentioning Greenhouse Gas emissions. So, what are they? A greenhouse gas is a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect – which is when gases trap heat into the Earth’s atmosphere which results in the warming of the planet. There are seven main greenhouse gases, these are:
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
- Methane (CH4)
- Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
- Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
- Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
- Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)
- Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3)
Each of these greenhouse gases has their own Global Warming Potential (GWP). GWP allows comparisons of the global warming impacts- (over 100 years) of different gases relative to Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
| Greenhouse Gas | Global Warming Potential |
| Carbon Dioxide (CO2) | 1 |
| Methane (CH4) | 28 |
| Nitrous Oxide (N2O) | 265 |
| Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) | 12,200 |
| Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) | 14,800 |
| Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) | 23,500 |
| Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) | 16,100 |
To find out more about how this might relate to your company, keep your eyes peeled on our website for our next blog.