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FACT BRIEF

Is more CO2 a good thing because it’s plant food?

By Sue Bin Park
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NO

While CO2 is necessary for plant growth, the negative impacts of climate change, driven by man-made CO2 emissions, far outweigh short-term productivity gains.

Plants need a balance of CO2, sunlight, water, and nutrients. Though more CO2 can initially boost growth, rising temperatures, disease vulnerability, shifting land fertility, and increased water demands offset these benefits.

The UN warns that global crop yields could decline by up to 30% by 2050, while a 2017 meta-analysis linked each degree of warming to a 3-7% yield loss for key crops like corn and soybeans. Losses are also attributed to increased disease pressure from altered climates.

Raised CO2 levels can also lower food quality. Reviews found reduced levels of essential nutrients in staple crops, while protein concentrations in grains like wheat and rice dropped by 10-15%.

The rapid human-induced accumulation of CO2 is producing more negative than positive consequences—for plants and the Earth at large.

See a full discussion of this at Skeptical Science
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Columbia Climate School How Climate Change Will Affect Plants
Scientific American Ask the Experts: Does Rising CO2 Benefit Plants?
Global Commission on Adaptation ADAPT NOW: A GLOBAL CALL FOR LEADERSHIP ON CLIMATE RESILIENCE
National Academy of Sciences Temperature increase reduces global yields of major crops in four independent estimates
Nature Climate change impacts on plant pathogens, food security and paths forward
Science Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels this century will alter the protein, micronutrients, and vitamin content of rice grains with potential health consequences for the poorest rice-dependent countries
Global Change Biology Effects of elevated CO2 on the protein concentration of food crops: a meta-analysis
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Skeptical Science
Skeptical Science is a non-profit science education organization. Our goal is to remove a roadblock to climate action by building public resilience against climate misinformation. We achieve this by publishing debunking of climate myths as well as providing resources for educators, communicators, scientists, and the general public. Skeptical Science was founded and is led by John Cook, a Senior Research Fellow with the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change at the University of Melbourne.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.