CO2 equivalents
The effect of the various greenhouse gases is measured by converting them into so-called CO2 equivalents. One CO2 equivalent equals the effect of the emission of 1 kilogram of CO2.
The emission of 1 kilogram of N2O equals 310 CO2 equivalents and emission of 1 kilogram of CH4 equals 21 CO2 equivalents.
All (chloro)fluorocarbon (CFC) gases have a high CO2 equivalent, but because CFC emissions are relatively small, their contribution to the nationwide total is marginal.