Definition

A measure of how much heat different greenhouse gases trap in the atmosphere relative to carbon dioxide (CO2, which has a GWP of 1) allowing comparison. GWP takes into account how long the gas stays in the atmosphere and strength of heat trapping and is reported for set time frames (such as 20, 100 or 500 years).

Further reading
Glossary: Global-warming potential (GWP) - Eurostat, Statistics Explained [website]
Understanding Global Warming Potentials - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [website]
Data Page: Global warming potential of greenhouse gases relative to CO2 - Our World in Data [website]
Related

atmospheric lifetime; climate effects; CO2eq; Global Temperature Potential / Global Temperature change Potential (GTP); global-warming potentials (GWPs); GWP* (GWP Star); infrared radiation; radiative efficiency; radiative forcing capacity (RF); time horizon; time-integrated radiative forcing; reference gas; warming potency; 100-year GWP

See also
Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
Carbon footprint
Climate change
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)
Drafted by
Chris Graham
Reviewed by
TBC