Introduction to Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Gordon Rowan
Head of Structured and Sustainable Finance
In this video, Gordon introduces the Keeling curve, the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere, and the idea that market-based tools such as cap and trade can help us to reorganise our economies to reduce the amount of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere.
In this video, Gordon introduces the Keeling curve, the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere, and the idea that market-based tools such as cap and trade can help us to reorganise our economies to reduce the amount of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere.
Introduction to Greenhouse Gas Emissions
7 mins 28 secs
By absorbing solar energy and reducing the speed at which it escapes into space, greenhouse gases warm the Earth by insulating it like a blanket. The warming of the Earth is influenced differently by various GHGs. The Global Warming Potential is a metric used to compare GHGs to the amount of energy that one tonne of CO2 will absorb over a century ("GWP"). Although CO2 has a GWP of 1 by definition, it can linger in the atmosphere for a much longer period of time than 100 years. The worst are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and their relatives, whose GWPs are thousands or tens of thousands of times more than CO2 equivalent. This is due to the fact that they significantly capture more heat than CO2 for a given mass.
Key learning objectives:
Understand what a concentration of 416 ppm mean
Understand the concept of greenhouse gases
Understand the government's initiatives to reduce carbon emissions
Gordon Rowan
Related videos
Introduction to Climate Change
Understanding the science of climate change is vital for understanding the future of finance. In this video, Simon gives an introduction to the science behind climate change and outlines the current political, scientific, and financial situations relating to this phenomenon.
Simon Thompson • 12:14
