The latest verdict is in on ‘climate change’ – and the news is good. The planet is greening, the oceans are blooming, food production is up, animals are thriving and humans are doing better than ever: and all thanks to CO2 and global warming.

So say the authors of the latest Climate Change Reconsidered report by the NIPCC – that’s the Non-Governmental International Panel on Climate Change, an independent research body funded by the Heartland Institute.

The scientific team, led by atmospheric physicist Fred Singer, geographer and agronomist Craig Idso, research physicist Sherwood B. Idso and marine geologist Bob Carter, has assessed the peer-reviewed evidence and reached a conclusion somewhat different from the scaremongering narrative which has been promoted in the last week by the IPCC and its amen corner in the mainstream media: reports of the planet’s imminent demise have been somewhat exaggerated; in fact we’re doing just fine.

Here are their latest report’s key findings.

Biological Impacts

Atmospheric CO2 is not a pollutant and is greening the planet. Far from damaging food production it is helping to increase it, as are rising temperatures. Ecosystems are thriving and rising CO2 levels and temperatures pose no significant threat to aquatic life. Global warming will have a negligible effect on human morbidity and the spread of infectious diseases but will, on balance, be beneficial because cold is a deadlier threat to the human species than warmth.

CO2, Plants And Soil

Numerous studies show that CO2 is good for plants, increasing their growth-rate, reducing their reliance on water and making them less vulnerable to stress. Increased CO2 has resulted in reduced topsoil erosion, has encouraged beneficial bacteria, and improved aerial fertilization – creating more plantlife which will help sequester the carbon apparently of so much concern to environmentalists.

Plant Characteristics

Rising CO2 will improve plant growth, development and yield. It enables plants to produce more – and larger – flowers, thus increasing productivity. It also helps plants grow more disease-resistant.

Earth’s Vegetative Future

Rising CO2 has led to a greening of the planet. Agricultural production has increased dramatically across the globe in the last three decades, partly because of new technologies but partly also because of the beneficial warmth and increased CO2.

Terrestrial Animals

There is little if any evidence to support the IPCC’s predictions of species extinction which are based mainly on computer models rather than hard data. Amphibian populations will suffer little, if any, harm. Bird populations may have been affected by habitat loss – but not by “climate change” to which they are more than capable of adapting. Polar bears have survived periods climatic change considerably more extreme than the ones currently being experienced. Butterflies, insects, reptiles and mammals tend on balance to proliferate rather than be harmed by “climate change.”

Aquatic Life

Multiple studies from multiple oceanic regions confirm that productivity – from phytoplankton and microalgae to corals, crustaceans and fish – tends to increase with temperature. Some experts predict coral calcification will increase by about 35 per cent beyond pre-industrial levels by 2100, with no extinction of coral reefs. Laboratory studies predicting lower PH levels – “ocean acidification” – fail to capture the complexities of the real world and often contradict observations in nature.

Human Health

Warmer temperatures result in fewer deaths associated with cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness and strokes. In the US a person who dies of cold loses on average in excess of ten years of life, whereas someone who dies from heat loses likely no more than a few days or weeks of life. Between 3 and 7 per cent of the gains in longevity in the US in the last three decades are the result of people moving to warmer states. There is a large body of evidence to suggest that the spread of malaria will NOT increase as a result of global warming. Rising CO2 is increasing the nutritional value of food with consequent health benefits for humans.

The report concludes: