These are like invisible blankets that trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, causing climate change. Think of them as the "warm air" in a greenhouse.
This is a way to compare how much different greenhouse gases warm the planet. It helps us understand the total warming effect, even though some gases warm the Earth more than others.
Imagine tracing the journey of a product from its very beginning (like a tree being cut down for paper) all the way to its end (like being thrown in the trash). LCA looks at the entire journey and how much pollution happens at each step.
Deciding which parts of the product's journey to include in the calculation. For example, do we look at just the manufacturing, or do we also consider how the materials were mined and transported?
A way to compare apples to apples. Let's say you want to compare the carbon footprint of a small car to a large truck. A functional unit might be "transporting one person one kilometer." This helps you see which vehicle is more efficient for that purpose.
Gathering all the information about the product's journey. This includes things like how much energy was used, how far it was transported, and how much waste was created.
These are like "recipes" that tell us how much pollution is created by specific activities. For example, how much pollution is released when burning a certain amount of gasoline.