A considerable amount of the carbon fixed by plants is emitted back into the atmosphere as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Novel inducible VOCs released from plants after biotic or abiotic stresses temporarily increase total emissions of carbon substantially. As well as having a role in attracting the natural enemies of herbivores, inducible VOCs are also involved in plant-to-plant signalling, pathogen defence and ozone quenching, as well as tropospheric ozone and fine-particle aerosol formation. To relate these diverse observations to active plant defence, a conceptual framework of four functional levels (plant cellular interspace, leaf boundary layer, ecosystem and atmosphere) of inducible VOCs is proposed to aid understanding of the evolutionary role of inducible plant volatiles.