Methane is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the

atmosphere. Over the last two centuries, methane concentrations in the atmosphere
have more than doubled, largely due to human-related activities. Because methane
is both a powerful greenhouse gas and short-lived compared to carbon dioxide,
achieving significant reductions would have a rapid and significant effect on
atmospheric warming potential.

Carbon dioxide is Earth’s most important greenhouse gas: a gas that absorbs and
radiates heat. Unlike oxygen or nitrogen (which make up most of our atmosphere),
greenhouse gases absorb heat radiating from the Earth’s surface and re-release it in
all directions—including back toward Earth’s surface. Without carbon dioxide,
Earth’s natural greenhouse effect would be too weak to keep the average global
surface temperature above freezing. By adding more carbon dioxide to the
atmosphere, people are supercharging the natural greenhouse effect, causing global
temperature to rise.

Technically, ozone is a greenhouse gas, but depending on where it is in the Earth's atmosphere, it can be either
beneficial or harmful. Ozone occurs naturally in the upper layers of the atmosphere (the stratosphere) and forms
a layer that blocks ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which is harmful to plants and animals, from reaching the earth's
surface. The protective benefits of stratospheric ozone outweigh its contribution to the greenhouse effect and global
warming. However, in the lower atmosphere (troposphere), ozone is harmful to human health.

Water vapour is also an effective greenhouse gas, as it does absorb longwave radiation and radiates it back to the
surface, thus contributing to warming.

When compared to other greenhouse gases, water vapour stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time.
Water vapour will generally stay in the atmosphere for days (before precipitating out) while other greenhouse gases,
such as carbon dioxide or methane, will stay in the atmosphere for a much longer period of time (ranging from years
to centuries) thus contributing to warming for an extended period of time.

The enhanced greenhouse effect, sometimes referred to as climate change or global warming, is the impact on the
climate from the additional heat retained due to the increased amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases that humans have released into the earths atmosphere since the industrial revolution.