Carbon dioxide equivalent

Method for evaluating GHGs in terms of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2E)

In addition to carbon dioxide, the Kyoto protocol identified and limited five other gases as greenhouse gases (GHGs).

The six gases have very different global warming effects which must be accounted for when establishing a carbon footprint. This makes for some challenges when trying to establish a single measurement that can be regularly monitored, recorded and used for reasons of compliance.

The solution to this problem has been established as carbon dioxide equivalence and is represented as the acronym CO_2E. Using established ratios, based on the 100 year global warming potential of the each gas, a carbon dioxide equivalent value for each of the GHGs can be established in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.

This simple method simplifies the problems surrounding GHG emissions reporting.