The difference between the greenhouse effect and global warming is that global warming is the greenhouse effect applied to the entire atmosphere and the greenhouse effect basically means how gases in an atmosphere affect the way that a closed system retains heat. Carbon dioxide plays a significant role in the greenhouse effect and global warming in a sense that plants need CO2 to survive. Also a great amount of CO2 is absorbed through natural processes. For example, the ocean absorbs C02 as well as plants. A sour