plants are no longer absorbing carbon dioxide

Question

While elevated levels of CO2 can help plants grow, the impacts of climate change mean it’s not all good news for plants. However, after researching this claim, I found a study done by a researcher at the Columbia Climate School drawing the conclusion that with global warming, and climate change, we are seeing a spike in CO2 content in our air, which has no negative effect on the amount of CO2 that plants absorb.

While there are negative effects of climate change that plants experience, it is not from a lack of CO2 absorption, it is from other factors that cause plants to release water at a slower rate.

Answer 1

The claim that plants are not absorbing carbon dioxide is extremely misleading. The article's purpose was to explain that climate change is affecting plants, not necessarily their CO2 absorption. However, an article from NASA (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-study-finds-tropical-forests-ability-to-absorb-carbon-dioxide-is-waning/) explained that while they still absorb some CO2, plants and trees are also a cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Since there has been an increase in droughts and forest fires, which are ways that plants and trees emit greenhouse gases, they are starting to offset the amount that they absorb. Both articles explain that climate change is also a contributing factor to rising CO2 emissions. So, while CO2 is rising, it is not that plants aren't absorbing them; they are, but other circumstances are starting to offset the amount being absorbed, making it seem like the rate has lowered.

Comments

I agree with the point you're making here, especially considering it's hard to tell exactly where the claim came from, it appears very broad and doesn't factor in any details the article actually talks about that mention different ecosystems or soil types and the different ways plants take in nutrients.

Answer 2

This claim had no article linked to it. However, I found an article to support this claim by The Guardian titled “Trees and land absorbed almost no CO2 last year. Is nature’s carbon sink failing?” which could be used to back the claim. This article argues that as earth's temperature increases due to climate change, it makes it harder for plants to absorb carbon dioxide. This is due to the plants and soil carbon uptake capacity weakening and becoming more and more fragile. 

An article written by the Conservation International wrote in response to The Guardian's claim. The Conservation International argues that nature is still absorbing a large proportion of yearly carbon emissions, but recent human-caused stressors have damaged the net balance between absorption and emissions. Human interference such as deforestation, fires, and technological advancements, have decreased our ecosystem's way to perform to its best ability, but it's still performing the ways it is supposed to. 

According to the Columbia Climate School, the percentage of CO2 admissions have risen steadily with the popularization of carbon dioxide fertilization. But this hasn't stopped plants from absorbing CO2, in fact, there have been some found benefits. Above ground plant growth has grown 21%, while underground plant growth has grown 28%, and crops such as soybeans, wheat, and rice are all expected to have better growing seasons. Another benefit to this is that “Under elevated CO2 concentrations, plants use less water during photosynthesis”. While this article in particular doesn't look specifically at how much CO2 plants and trees are absorbing, it does support the fact that there has been no negative effects on co2 absorption from plants. 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/14/nature-carbon-sink-collapse-global-heating-models-emissions-targets-evidence-aoe 

https://www.conservation.org/blog/is-nature-failing-to-curb-climate-change-not-quite 

Answer 3

It is very misleading to say that plants are unable to absorb carbon dioxide because climate change stops it. Even with the rising Co2 levels in the atmosphere, plants still continue to absorb a good amount of Co2 through photosynthesis. The Columbia Climate School believes that as Co2 levels rose, global plant photosynthesis increased by around 12% between 1982 and 2020. Also, according to the MIT Climate Portal, plants currently absorb between 25% and 33% of all Co2 emissions created by humans. Drought and heat may restrict plant growth, but they don't completely prevent the absorption of CO2.   Actually, many plants can use water more effectively and continue photosynthesizing even when stressed when Co2 levels are high NASA Earth Observatory.

Answer 4

This claim is very misleading due to the fact that it states plants aren't able to absorb carbon dioxide at all. When photosynthesis happens with carbon dioxide plants continue to grow which If carbon dioxide is unable to be absorbed plants would not grow at all. “Plants absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and much of this carbon dioxide is then stored in roots, permafrost, grasslands, and forests”(US dept of energy).  Though plants still absorb carbon dioxide, the amount of carbon admitted was four times larger in temperate regions and Boreal areas combined (NASA gov) which would be able to cause the confusion between plants and not absorbing carbon dioxide to not absorbing enough due to more carbon dioxide than plants on our planet. Our world consists of 80 to 82% of plants which is the most dominant life form, as well as “Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe. With its ability to form complex molecules such as DNA and proteins, carbon makes life on Earth possible”(US dept of energy).

Answer 5

This claim is very misleading in many different ways. "As human emissions rose, the amount absorbed by nature increased too: higher carbon dioxide can mean plants grow faster, storing more carbon. But this balance is beginning to shift, driven by rising heat" (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/14/nature-carbon-sink-collapse-global-heating-models-emissions-targets-evidence-aoe). The article by the guardian reveals that it is misleading and sometimes regular plants do absorb carbon dioxide. 

There was another article by the guardian that also states that "Our planet is losing its appetite for mopping up carbon dioxide. Analysis of atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements show that Earth’s plants and soils reached peak carbon dioxide sequestration in 2008 and absorption has been declining ever since." (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/feb/26/plants-losing-appetite-for-carbon-dioxide-amid-effects-of-warming-climate). 

I would say that it is valid that sometimes plants aren't capable of absorbing anymore carbon dioxide but that doesn't mean all plants will lose this ability and there are still plants that will absorb lots of carbon dioxide due to the changes in environment or specific species. In the general sense many of the plants do still absorb lots of carbon dioxide and the plants that do never absorb are the ones that have been affected by environmental issues which restrict them from actually absorbing the usual amount. 

Answer 6

The claim that plants are no longer absorbing CO2 due to climate change is untrue and misleading, and potentially harmful to those who have not researched the topic. Scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that plants continue to absorb large quantities of CO₂ through photosynthesis, however, in my research I have found that the efficiency in doing so is being reduced by the impacts of global warming, including drought, heat stress, and nutrient depletion, not a change in plants themselves. 

MIT Climate Portal (2023)

This article directly contradicts the claim that plants have stopped absorbing CO2 by explaining how 1/3 of human produced emissions are still absorbed annually by plants and soil. This evidence reinforces the importance of the natural carbon sinks, or places where CO2 is used to be converted during photosynthesis, and how plants roles in maintaining Earth's biosphere still holds strong despite fluctuations that may occur. This article also describes a sort of "cap" plants have, and the reach a point after absorbing CO2 that they can't physically absorb it any faster.

Science (Wang, 2020)

This reading encourages the idea that an increase of CO2 causes the fertilization effect, and is still in effect, but climate change is weakening the plants ability to uptake carbon dioxide. According to the article, these factors include drought, increasing temperatures, and nutrient limitations. These findings help to dismantle the idea the plants themselves have stopped absorbing CO2, and reminds that environmental factors play a larger role

Columbia Climate School (Cho, 2022)

Another article agrees with the idea put forth by Wang in 2020. Conducted by researchers at Columbia University, it describes how plant growth can be stimulated by a rise in CO2, but the likely reasoning for staunched development is climate change consequences like drought and temperature rises. The reasoning is because plants must close their stomata to conserve water in these scenarios, resulting in a limit of the amount of CO2 they can take in, which results in more CO2 being present in the atmosphere. These findings disagree with the idea that plants aren't taking in CO2, but confirm they aren't experiencing the right environmental factors to do so effectively.