Greenhouse gas Greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range. Greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Without greenhouse gases, the average temperature of Earth's surface would be about , rather than the present average of . The atmospheres of Venus, Mars and Titan also contain greenhouse gases. Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (around 1750) have produced a 40% increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (), from 280 ppm
Greenhouse debt Greenhouse debt Greenhouse debt is the measure to which an individual person, incorporated association, business enterprise, government instrumentality or / [and] (per Neb., USA) geographic community exceeds its permitted greenhouse footprint and contributes greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and climate change. The concept makes no sense without a clear numerical value for the permitted greenhouse footprint. It is not clear what this value is. Friends of the Earth and similar organisations put forward the concept to define specifically the environmental harm caused by developed countries' past and present policies. Some governments, at least the Australian Labor leadership, have