The term “green house” gas is used. That puts an image in our mind as most of us have been in a green house or in a hot car. One old research article from the early century that I can not find now, asserted that it was the PHYSICAL BARRIER of the glass that retained the heat more than anything else. Are clouds that much of a physical barrier?
Clouds, which basically consists of tiny water droplets (not gas), specifically the high, thin variety, AND water vapor (gaseous water), act as barriers to heat escaping. Gaseous CO2 and water vapor, I would imagine, are less of a “physical barrier” than the high, thin, stratus-type clouds. Interesting question. I’ll look into it when I have more time.