Hi Sam, a good question as the two terms are often mixed up by politicans and the media. No they are not the same thing but they are very closely related. Here’s a short answer which simplifies things to an extent.

The greenhouse effect is what makes our planet warm by trapping thermal radiation emitted from the earth’s surface within the atmosphere (lots of geography books have good diagrams showing how this process works). The greenhouse effect is an essential process which has been around for as long as the earth has - without it we would not be able to survive.

Global warming happens when the greenhouse effect is enhanced or strengthened so that MORE heat is retained within the earth’s atmosphere than would normally be the case. This enhancement results from more ‘greenhouse gases’, particularly carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere. Most experts now agree that a rise in the global average temperature (i.e. global warming) has started to take place and will increase at a faster pace if we keep on releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere particularly through burning fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil. What impacts this will have on weather patterns at a regional level, and on sea levels is more uncertain - but the consensus is that greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced now if we are to avoid potentially catastrophic changes in the future. So global warming = the temperature rise resulting from an enhanced greenhouse effect.