The effect of the various greenhouse gases is measured by converting them into so-called CO2 equivalents. One CO2 equivalent equals the effect of emission of 1 kilogram of CO2. 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.
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