The Daily Sceptic piece begins with Kemi Badenoch calling Net Zero by 2050 "impossible," a statement that's got the climate alarmists clutching their pearls:
https://dailysceptic.org/2025/04/03/carbon-dioxide-is-good-for-the-planet/
Ed Miliband's "Wacky Races" jab and the Met Office's Stephen Belcher diagnosing Earth as "profoundly ill" due to CO2 levels being the highest in 800,000 years, set the tone: the official narrative is all fear, all the time. But let's flip the script and unpack why carbon dioxide, far from being the planet's grim reaper, might actually be its unsung hero—contrary to the doom-laden climate change rhetoric.
First off, CO2 isn't some rogue villain; it's plant food. Photosynthesis 101: plants suck in carbon dioxide, mix it with sunlight and water, and churn out oxygen and sugars. More CO2 in the air—currently at about 420 parts per million (ppm), up from pre-industrial 280 ppm—supercharges this process. NASA's satellite data since the 1980s shows a "global greening" effect, with leaf cover spiking by 14% or more in some estimates. That's not just pretty forests; it's a famine-fighting machine. A 2023 study cited by the CO2 Coalition found that a 1 ppm CO2 bump boosts corn yields by 0.4%, soybeans by 0.6%, and wheat by 1%. Since the Industrial Revolution kicked CO2 levels up, crop production's soared— 25% higher yields in some regions—feeding billions who'd otherwise go hungry. Alarmists might wail about warming, but this greening's a tangible win.
Then there's the saturation argument, which pokes holes in the "CO2 equals runaway heat" panic. Scientists like William Happer and Taiwanese researchers led by Peng-Sheng Wei, argue that CO2's warming effect tapers off as concentrations rise. Why? It only traps heat in narrow infrared bands, and those bands are already mostly maxed out—overlapping with water vapour, the real greenhouse gas heavyweight (95% of the effect). Wei's team pegged the sensitivity of climate to a CO2 jump from 100 to 400 ppm at a measly 0.3°C—barely a blip. Past CO2 levels hit 4,000 ppm without Earth turning into Venus; saturation explains why. So, the extra CO2 we're pumping out? It's greening the planet without cranking the thermostat much higher.
Climate alarmism also ignores how CO2-driven greening cools things down. A 2023 paper by Chinese scientists found that denser vegetation—spurred by CO2—has offset about 4.6% of global warming since the 1980s, with India and China seeing 39.4% and 19% offsets, respectively. Darker leaves absorb heat, sure, but evaporation and convection from lush plants drop local temps by about 0.018°C per decade. That's not small change when you're talking billions of new trees and shrubs. The Met Office might call Earth "ill," but this is more like a natural air conditioner kicking in.
And let's consider history. The "highest in 800,000 years" line sounds scary until you zoom out. During the Cambrian period, CO2 was 7,000 ppm, and life exploded—think trilobites and coral reefs. Even the dinosaurs thrived at 1,000-2,000 ppm. Warmer? Sure, but not apocalyptic. Today's 420 ppm is still low compared to Earth's deep past, and plants love it—some species grow 40% faster in lab tests at 600 ppm. The alarmist narrative treats CO2 like poison, but it's closer to a vitamin the planet's been missing since levels dipped below 200 ppm during ice ages, nearly starving plant life.
Net Zero's "sack-cloth-and-ashes" push, as the Sceptic calls it, trashes the environment to save it—wind farms carving up hillsides, solar arrays frying birds, and countryside paved over for "green" tech. Meanwhile, China and India burn coal like it's going out of style (it's not), and the UK's 1% of global emissions makes its self-flagellation a drop in the bucket. CO2's benefits—more food, greener lands, a buffer against drought—get buried under a fear-narrative that's more about control than science.
So, contra the climate catastrophists, carbon dioxide's a boon: it feeds the world, greens the Earth, and barely nudges the temp gauge once it hits saturation. Belcher's "profoundly ill" Earth might just be profoundly thriving—if only we'd stop panicking long enough to notice.
https://dailysceptic.org/2025/04/03/carbon-dioxide-is-good-for-the-planet/
"Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader of the Opposition, has stated that the quest to reach Net Zero by 2050 is in fact "impossible". This has of course brought condemnation from officialdom. Without showing any evidence of self-awareness, Ed Miliband, the Labour Government's Energy Secretary, accused her leadership of being "off to the Wacky Races" because of the statement. It would seem that here in the UK the official narrative, which leads towards a self-flagellating zero carbon future, must be upheld. This is despite many global players, including the USA, China and India, rejecting the unrealisable goal. Internationally, there isn't the political will to seriously stop carbon fuel use, and the UKs sack-cloth-and-ashes approach is very damaging to both public finances and the environment, by industrialising countryside. As Ben Pile points out climatism maybe dying in parts of the world, but not here in the UK and EU.
The fear-narrative is also promoted by governmental institutions. Professor Stephen Belcher, the Met Office Chief Scientist, recently said: "The latest planetary health check tells us that earth is profoundly ill" – a statement which is based upon the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide allegedly being at the highest level in the last 800,000 years. The Chief Scientist here is not just reporting facts, but passing a value judgement on what level of carbon dioxide is good for the health of the planet."