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### Glossary of Units for Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reporting
#### **Grams of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (gCO₂e)**
- **Definition**: A small-scale unit used to measure greenhouse gas emissions, often applied to individual products, activities, or small systems.
- **Example Use**: Emissions per kilometer traveled by a car.
- **Conversion**: $$ 1 \, \text{gCO₂e} = 0.000001 \, \text{tCO₂e} $$.
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#### **Kilograms of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (kgCO₂e)**
- **Definition**: A mid-scale unit often used for household-level emissions or specific activities like energy use or waste generation.
- **Example Use**: Emissions from heating a home for one day.
- **Conversion**: $$ 1 \, \text{kgCO₂e} = 0.001 \, \text{tCO₂e} $$.
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#### **Tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (tCO₂e)**
- **Definition**: A standard unit for measuring greenhouse gas emissions on a larger scale, such as for businesses, projects, or small regions.
- **Example Use**: Annual emissions of a single car or the carbon footprint of an average household.
- **Conversion**: $$ 1 \, \text{tCO₂e} = 1,000 \, \text{kgCO₂e} $$.
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#### **Kilotonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (ktCO₂e)**
- **Definition**: A larger unit used to report emissions from industrial facilities, cities, or sectors like transportation or energy production.
- **Example Use**: Annual emissions from a medium-sized power plant.
- **Conversion**: $$ 1 \, \text{ktCO₂e} = 1,000 \, \text{tCO₂e} = 1,000,000 \, \text{kgCO₂e} $$.
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#### **Millions of Tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (MtCO₂e)**
- **Definition**: A very large unit used to express national or global greenhouse gas emissions or reductions.
- **Example Use**: Total annual emissions of a country or the impact of a large-scale climate policy.
- **Conversion**: $$ 1 \, \text{MtCO₂e} = 1,000,000 \, \text{tCO₂e} = 1,000 \, \text{ktCO₂e} $$.
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#### **Gigatonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (GtCO₂e)**
- **Definition**: The largest commonly used unit for global-scale reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and targets.
- **Example Use**: Total global annual emissions or cumulative reductions needed to meet international climate goals (like limiting warming to 1.5°C).
- **Conversion**: $$ 1 \, \text{GtCO₂e} = 1,000 MtCO₂e = 1,000,000 ktCO₂e = 1,000,000,000 tCO₂e $$.
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#### **Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO₂e)**
- **Definition**: A metric that expresses the impact of all greenhouse gases in terms of the equivalent amount of CO₂ that would produce the same global warming effect. It is calculated using the global warming potential (GWP) of each gas relative to CO₂.
- **Formula**:
$$
CO₂e = (\text{Mass of Gas}) \times (\text{GWP of Gas})
$$
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### Summary Table
| Unit | Abbreviation | Scale | Conversion to tCO₂e | Example Use Case |
|--------------|--------------|---------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| Grams | gCO₂e | Small-scale | $$ 0.000001\,\text{tCO₂e} $$ | Emissions per km driven by a car |
| Kilograms | kgCO₂e | Household-level | $$ 0.001\,\text{tCO₂e} $$ | Daily household energy use |
| Tonnes | tCO₂e | Standard unit | $$ 1\,\text{tCO₂e} $$ | Annual footprint of an average household |
| Kilotonnes | ktCO₂e | Industrial-level | $$ 1,000\,\text{tCO₂e} $$ | Emissions from a power plant |
| Millions | MtCO₂e | National-level | $$ 1,000,000\,\text{tCO₂e} $$ | Total annual emissions of a country |
| Gigatonnes | GtCO₂e | Global-scale | $$ 1,000,000,000\,\text{tCO₂e} $$ | Global annual emissions |
This glossary focuses on units relevant to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas reporting and provides essential context for understanding their applications across different scales. |