GHG

Science & Engineering abbreviation · Environmental

GHG
Stands forGreenhouse gas
CategoriesScience & Engineering

GHG stands for Greenhouse gas, an environmental abbreviation.

Gas in the atmosphere that absorbs and re-emits infrared radiation, trapping heat near Earth's surface. The main human-emitted GHGs are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases; water vapor is the largest natural contributor but responds to temperature rather than driving it.

Example: The company reported a 12% drop in GHG emissions from its factories compared with 2019.

Usage notes

Joseph Fourier described the warming effect of the atmosphere in 1824, Eunice Foote showed in 1856 that carbon dioxide traps heat, John Tyndall measured the absorption of different gases in 1859, and Svante Arrhenius estimated the warming from doubled CO2 in 1896. National inventories under the Kyoto Protocol cover seven gases, including SF6 and NF3.

More environmental abbreviations

  • EMS – Environmental management system
  • EN – Endangered
  • ENSO – El Niño-Southern Oscillation
  • EPD – Environmental product declaration
  • EPR – Extended producer responsibility
  • ETS – Emissions trading system
  • GMST – Global mean surface temperature
  • GWP – Global warming potential
  • HAB – Harmful algal bloom
  • HAP – Hazardous air pollutant
  • IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  • LC – Least Concern

See all 62 environmental abbreviations →