Energy budget (Q549)
Subject, term, tag: Energy budget
- Energy budget (of the Earth)
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Energy budget |
Subject, term, tag: Energy budget |
|
Statements
IPCC Glossary v1.5
1 reference
27 May 2026
The Earth is a physical system with an energy budget that includes all gains of incoming energy and all losses of outgoing energy. The Earth’s energy budget is determined by measuring how much energy comes into the Earth system from the Sun, how much energy is lost to space, and accounting for the remainder on Earth and its atmosphere. Solar radiation is the dominant source of energy into the Earth system. Incoming solar energy may be scattered and reflected by clouds and aerosols or absorbed in the atmosphere. The transmitted radiation is then either absorbed or reflected at the Earth’s surface. The average albedo of the Earth is about 0.3, which means that 30% of the incident solar energy is reflected into space, while 70% is absorbed by the Earth. Radiant solar or shortwave energy is transformed into sensible heat, latent energy (involving different water states), potential energy, and kinetic energy before being emitted as infrared radiation. With the average surface temperature of the Earth of about 15°C (288 K), the main outgoing energy flux is in the infrared part of the spectrum. (English)
IPCC Glossary v1.5
1 reference
27 May 2026