Climate change Doubt

Climate change Doubt: Study shows carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere are overstated

Climate change forecasts may be overestimates due to a failure to take into account how plants absorb carbon dioxide, scientists warned today.

They said the impact of rising CO2 levels on plant growth has been underestimated by 16 per cent.

And as plants absorb CO2, this has led to overestimates of how much of the greenhouse gas is left in the atmosphere.

Climate sceptics said the study by American scientists is yet more proof that the science of climate change is not settled and is instead much more complicated than previously thought.

This casts doubt on the drive for costly anti-pollution measures such as wind farms.

Benny Peiser of the Global Warming Policy Forum said: "This new paper adds to a growing body of research which shows that climate science is far from settled. Quite the opposite is true: the more we learn, the more we realise just how little we know.

"The research claims that current computer models have failed to account for past and current terrestrial carbon sinks and are thus inherently flawed in making any accurate climate predictions.

"The paper also confirms that the Earth's climate system is far more complex and far less understood than many people claim."

Reference

Climate change forecasts may be overestimated