But sophisticated computer models, based on CO 2 emissions alone, predict as much as a 5 o C. temperature rise over the next 200 years. This would be catastrophic, causing severe ice melting and an almost unbearably hot climate over much of the earth. Over the aeons a balance had developed in the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth's surface and that portion of it, when converted to heat, that mostly escapes as infrared radiation. If new molecules, generated by mankind, escape to the atmosphere, more heat will be trapped. Here, the problem is not the C-Cl bond that impacts stratospheric O 3 .
Scientists can measure infrared absorption by molecules very accurately.
In the case of fluorocarbons, it is not just sufficient to look at the GWP values. Atmospheric lifetimes must be taken into account. The following table shows these values for some key compounds. The GWP of CO 2 is arbitrarily set at 1.0 for comparison. Therefore, its GWP is even greater than FC-116.