The Benefits of Elevated CO2 on Society

Written by Dr. Matthew Wielicki on February 10, 2024. Posted in Current News

The increase in atmospheric CO2 levels, attributed primarily to human activities such as the burning of ‘fossil fuels’ and land-use changes, is often discussed in the context of its role in driving ‘climate change’ and its associated negative impacts

In fact, the mission statement of the IPCC explicitly states their focus on ‘climate change’ risk…

The IPCC was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options.

Source: https://www.ipcc.ch/#:~:text=The%20IPCC%20was%20created%20to,of%20knowledge%20on%20climate%20change.

However, there are also several aspects in which elevated CO2 levels have beneficial effects on society, which the IPCC and the MSM commonly ignore as they do not fit the narrative of a climate emergency.

Here, I explore these benefits, focusing on agricultural productivity, plant growth, and potentially mitigating certain environmental challenges to show that elevated CO2 has had a net benefit on society to the present day.

Increasing evidence points towards the claimed detrimental impacts of rising CO2 levels not being reflected in the observable data.

Consequently, the overall effects of heightened CO2 levels could potentially result in a net positive for society, particularly if the negative effects have been grossly overestimated.

One of the most direct benefits of increased atmospheric CO2 is its effect on plant growth and agricultural productivity. This had been identified by NASA long ago…

But this result has been recently called into question with a 2019 ‘study’ in Science, titled, ‘Increased atmospheric vapor pressure deficit reduces global vegetation growth’ which states:

In response, the vegetation greening trend indicated by a satellite-derived vegetation index (GIMMS3g), which was evident before the late 1990s, was subsequently stalled or reversed.

However, the most recent results published last month in Global Ecology and Conservation have confirmed NASA’s original findings, concluding:

Greening acceleration occurred in 55.15 percent of the globe (positive trend and positive growth rate trend), while browning acceleration occurred in only 7.28 percent (negative trend and positive growth rate trend).

Combined with meteorological variables, we found that CO₂ change dominated the LAI (leaf area index) trend, while climate change largely determined the LAI growth rate trend.

Importantly, our study highlighted that drought trend did not necessarily trigger vegetation browning, but slowed down the rate of greening.

As many of us learned in elementary school, CO2 is a critical raw material for photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy, using CO2 and water to create glucose, which fuels their growth and development.

The CO2 fertilization effect refers to the enhanced growth of plants, including many crops important for human consumption, under elevated CO2 conditions.

Studies have shown that crops such as wheat, rice, and soybeans can exhibit increased growth rates and yields in environments with higher CO2 concentrations.

Plants come in two main flavors when it comes to how they capture carbon dioxide for photosynthesis: C3 and C4.

C3 plants, like apples, oranges, strawberries, lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes, beans, lentils, soybeans, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, wheat, barley, rye, oats, potatoes, peas, lentils, flax, use a simple approach with a 3-carbon compound as their first product.

The good news is that they thrive under higher CO2 levels, potentially doubling their yield if CO2 concentration reaches 800-1000 ppm.

The work of the Idso’s at CO2Science shows that the optimum level of CO2 for best plant & crop growth is 1200ppm – Ed

C4 plants, like maize, sorghum, sugarcane, millet, and most grasses, are more efficient CO2 capturers, using a 4-carbon compound pathway. While they still benefit from increased CO2 (up to 25 percent yield increase at 800-1000 ppm), their response is less dramatic than C3 plants.

They’re also tougher and can handle CO2 levels up to 1800ppm without damage.

Interestingly, as the planet gently warms, the vegetation prefers higher CO2 concentrations.

The combination of modern farming machinery, synthetic fertilizers produced from ‘fossil fuels’, and CO2 fertilization has resulted in record crop yields globally, crucial for feeding the growing global population and a significant decrease in the rate of people dying due to famine.

Higher CO2 levels can also improve plant water use efficiency, meaning plants lose less water through transpiration (the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from leaves) while still maintaining or even increasing their photosynthetic capacity.

In fact, a study published in 2017 in Nature Communications found:

The increased water use efficiency is positively related to rising CO₂ concentration and increased canopy leaf area index, and negatively influenced by increased vapour pressure deficits.

Our findings suggest that rising atmospheric CO₂ concentration has caused a shift in terrestrial water economics of carbon uptake.

This trait is particularly beneficial in arid and semi-arid regions where water is a limiting factor for plant growth. By improving water use efficiency, increased CO2 levels could help in the cultivation of crops in regions previously considered marginally arable, thus contributing to food security.

Interestingly, crops such as wheat and corn have been shown to respond differently regarding water efficiency

This increase in agricultural yields and efficiency due to elevated CO2 levels, in addition to modern equipment and synthetic fertilizers, has had significant economic benefits. Higher productivity has led to lower food prices and increased food availability, contributing to economic stability and reducing extreme poverty globally.

Finally, the elephant in the room, and perhaps the most contentious point, is the shadow of another ice age looming on the horizon.

Our species has been through them before, and evidence suggests that our nearest extinction event occurred during a glacial cycle 900k years ago.

These dramatic swings between glacial and interglacial periods are pretty recent developments in Earth’s history, emerging only a couple million years ago when CO2 dipped below ~350 ppm.

Interestingly, the cycles driving these shifts, Milkaovich Cycles, seem to dominate only when global surface temperatures dip below 15°C (while I personally don’t put much stock in this whole “global temperature” thing, it’s the language climate science uses, so I’m playing their game).

I call this critical temperature the “Global Surface Temperature Threshold,” or GSTST for short.

Below the GSTST, and possibly even slightly above as evidenced by the Holsteinian and Femian interglacials, the planet is bound to return to ~80,000 years of glacial cold, possibly resulting in another near-extinction event.

The average global surface temperature for the 20th century is estimated to have been ~13.9°C, well below the GSTST and essentially ensuring the return of a glacial cycle.

Current warming has raised the average global surface temperature in 2023 to 15.1°C, just slightly above the GSTST, but still below the short-lived highs of the Holsteinian and Femian interglacials.

Increased CO2 is claimed to be an existential threat to society by the IPCC and the MSM, primarily through concerns over extreme weather events and their resultant increases in mortality and socio-economic costs.

However, the observable data does not corroborate these claims.

Instead, the evidence increasingly supports the notion that the overall effects of elevated CO2 levels since the Industrial Revolution have conferred significant benefits to society, especially in the realms of agriculture and environmental resilience.

See more here substack.com

Header image: Sherwood Idso

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