A recent paper in Science Advances throws a spanner in the climate change alarmist works, something we are keen to do at the blog, since this is the core agenda promoting the shutting down of farms (as in the Netherlands and Ireland) and the movement away from the secure energy source of fossil fuels. One of the planks of the climate change alarmist position has been that plants will cease to be what is called carbon sinks, absorbers of carbon, and become carbon emitters. Yet the research has shown now that plants will absorb 20 percent more carbon dioxide by the end of the century than previous predicted! This means that the climate change models being used by the UN and others like the World Economic Forum are off, since they have failed to account for a huge photosynthesis factor. And the conclusion to be made is that the UN models have over-estimated the extent of climate change.

Within the climate change alarmist paradigm, this is a huge blow. Of course, all the parties at the debate here accept the assumption that human-caused climate change is occurring, but the evidence that even from this paradigm that it is an exaggeration, is still useful to us critics seeking to save Western industry, jobs and out life style from a dark fate of returning to cold, barren caves.     

https://www.sott.net/article/486143-Study-shows-CO2-uptake-by-plants-increasing-in-recent-years-vegetation-also-increasing-Trinity-College-London

“Plants will absorb 20 per cent more carbon dioxide than predicted by the end of the century, a new study has found, suggesting climate models are overestimating how fast the planet will warm.

Trinity College Dublin said its research painted an "uncharacteristically upbeat picture for the planet" after finding models had failed to take into account all the elements of photosynthesis.

During photosynthesis, green plants use light energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide, water and minerals into the sugars they need for growth.

Comment: Note that this article continues to push the easily debunked global 'boiling' propaganda model, but what's important is how the study's findings expose some of the critical flaws in that model.

Scientists thought climate change could weaken the process, but the new research suggests plants can adjust to the temperatures, efficiently absorbing carbon dioxide, producing extra nutrients, and continuing to thrive.

Comment: Temperature is but one factor that impacts plant life.

They found that on a global scale, the amount of carbon converted during photosynthesis could be up to 68 per cent greater by the end of the century compared to the start of the century, and 20 per cent more than some current models suggest.

Comment: Is this operating on the assumption that sunlight will remain steady or increase? What if, as has happened numerous times before, conditions in our atmosphere block out sunlight? Reduction of sunlight may contribute to ice ages - MIT study

Still a need to cut emissions

Silvia Caldararu, assistant professor at Trinity's School of Natural Sciences, said: "What our study shows is that ecosystems could take up more CO2 out of the atmosphere than previously thought, which would mean lower CO2 concentrations, so a less steep rise in temperature.

"So yes, that would give us a bit more time to reach net zero. But it is important to note that we predict a lot of this drawdown will happen towards the end of the century, while we need to cut emissions now, or possibly yesterday."

Plants take up a huge amount of carbon dioxide every year, slowing down the effects of climate change, but experts have been uncertain whether that would continue as the climate changes.

In recent years, observations have shown that the carbon dioxide uptake by plants is increasing, which is likely driven in part by increased vegetation growth caused by carbon rises.

Comment: Note that this is an actual data point, rather than a weak prediction based on a biased model. The same increase in growth can be seen in greenhouses which pump in CO2.

An increase in the ability of plants to absorb carbon dioxide not only removes it from the atmosphere, but more growth brings down land temperature and mitigating effects on climate change globally indirectly.

Although climate modellers have attempted to include estimates for this carbon sink, the researchers found that most models were not complex enough to understand the true resilience of plants to climate change.

Comment: Science is only just beginning to understand the incredible complexity of plant life, and climate: Fungi manipulate bacteria to enrich soil with nutrients

Researchers found that under the extreme RCP 8.5 warming scenario, a pathway where greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow unmitigated, plants would take a fifth more carbon dioxide from the air than currently expected.

The RCP 8.5 scenario predicts a temperature increase of about 4.3C by 2100, relative to pre-industrial temperatures.

However, the authors cautioned that land ecosystems only absorb about a quarter of human emissions, so the extra benefit would take that up to around 30 per cent.

Comment: And what of CO2 emissions, in addition to other gasses, from other sources, such as those emitted by volcanoes? Volcanoes, Earthquakes And The 3,600 Year Comet Cycle

They said it showed the importance of protecting forests and green areas and implementing planting schemes.

'Planting trees will not solve all our problems'

Dr Jürgen Knauer, of Western Sydney University, who headed the research team said: "These kinds of predictions have implications for nature-brd solutions to climate change such as reforestation and afforestation and how much carbon such initiatives can take up.

"Our findings suggest these approaches could have a larger impact in mitigating climate change and over a longer time period than we thought.

"However, simply planting trees will not solve all our problems. We absolutely need to cut down emissions from all sectors. Trees alone cannot offer humanity a get out of jail free card."

Comment: Indeed, why focus on planting more trees when scientists are only just beginning to learn how much biomass there actually is on our planet? Study finds hidden trees across Europe: A billion tons of biomass is overlooked today

Commenting on the research, Prof Simon Lewis, professor of global change science at University College London (UCL), said: "This is a good study, but the interpretation of what this means for the future carbon uptake from the atmosphere and into forests needs care.

"Faster growing trees tend to have shorter lifespans, so it is possible that we could see greater photosynthesis as this study shows, but without large additional increases in carbon stored on the land."

Prof Mark Maslin, professor of climatology at UCL, said the results did not change the need to get to net zero emissions as fast as possible.

The research was published in the journal Science Advances.”