Daily Caller News Foundation

Study: Global warming could yield $11.6 trillion in increased crop production

Could global warming be a boon to farmers? A recent study found that rising carbon dioxide concentrations bestow an additional $11.6 trillion in benefits from crop production between now and 2050.





While the Obama administration has touted the costs of carbon emissions, going so far as to impose new regulations on coal-fired power plants, they have neglected to mention any areas where global warming could benefit society.

One such area is food production, according to the center.




Recently the United Nations released its latest global climate assessment, claiming “95 percent certainty” that human activities drove global warming and that global temperatures would “likely” rise 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit over pre-industrial temperatures by 2100.

Burning fossil fuels has helped increase the global concentration of carbon dioxide to nearly 400 parts per million today, and current trends indicate that the carbon concentration could increase to about 700 parts per million by 2100, according to the center.

“And as the CO2 concentration of the air continues to rise in the future, this positive externality of enhanced crop production will benefit society in the years, decades, and even centuries to come,” according to the study.