Greenhouse effect

Term for the effect of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases act like an invisible barrier in the earth's atmosphere. They allow short-wave radiation from the sun to pass through, but when the earth's surface and atmosphere heat up and emit infrared radiation, the greenhouse gases trap this heat. This effect is similar to the principle of a greenhouse, causing the temperature on the surface of the earth to rise. The greenhouse gases:

• Carbon dioxide: mainly released by the burning of fossil fuels in energy production and transport as well as deforestation; main cause of climate change
• Methane: mainly from livestock farming through the digestive process in cows and sheep; emissions are released during natural gas and oil production and landfills; has a 25 times greater effect thanCO2
• Nitrous oxide (colourless nitrogen oxide): produced by the use of nitrogenous fertilisers and industrial processes such as nitric acid production; has an impact 300 times greater thanCO2
• Hydrofluorocarbons: industrially produced and mainly used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems as well as in foams and aerosols; some HFCs have an extremely high greenhouse effect
• Sulphur hexafluoride: mainly used in the electrical industry as an insulating gas and released as a by-product of aluminium production; has an effect 23,500 times stronger thanCO2