What Are Greenhouse Gases?

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are clear, invisible gases that trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the planet to warm. Major greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O). Greenhouse gases like CO₂ stick around in the atmosphere, and will continue to impact the atmosphere and Earth’s environment even after we reduce our emissions. Increased greenhouse gases can intensify extreme weather events, sea level rise, and biodiversity loss.

Watch this short video to learn more about how the greenhouse effect works and contributes to climate change.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have significantly increased since the Industrial Revolution, and continue to increase, primarily driven by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes.

You can see a graph below from NASA that shows the increase in carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere.

A graph showing the rapid rise in carbon emissions in the 1900s and 2000s

In order to keep the Earth’s average temperature from warming significantly we must reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that we are emitting.