# CO2 Equivalents #### What is CO2e? “Carbon” is the most common shorthand for emissions measuring because carbon dioxide (molecular structure CO2) is the most common pollutant in the atmosphere. However, CO2 is not the only pollutant measured when keeping track of emissions. Generically, the group of harmful climate emissions are referred to as “greenhouse gases”, or GHGs. When measuring emissions, all of these substances are taken into account. For simplicity’s sake, they are often referred to collectively as GHGs or CO2 equivalents, abbreviated as “CO2e”. #### What is Included in CO2e? Obviously, CO2e includes carbon dioxide. Other common substances include methane (CH4), which is the substance that cows release commonly and is 80x more potent than carbon dioxide, as well as nitrous oxide (NOx). #### Why Do We Quantify With CO2e? CO2e is the most accurate way to measure climate impact. While carbon dioxide is the most common, there are many substances that affect the environment. By quantifying with CO2e, we include all of the other harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. 👉 **Specifically, Carbonlink quantifies with kg/CO2e, not tonnes. Every kg counts!** --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://carbonlink.gitbook.io/carbonlink-api/resources/defining-emissions/co2-equivalents.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.