Question: Couldn't climate change be benefitial to the world? Why is it so important to prevent it?

Gemma Purser answered on 26 Jun 2012:

It’s true that climate change could have some beneficial effects for certain communities on our planet. For example, it’s not too hard to imagine that some farmers might benefit from more sunshine which will help their plants grow, providing them with more food and making them more money. However, we could equally say that under a warming planet, the demand for water to irrigate farmland will also increase and potentially make growing crops more difficult.
The real problems arise when we start to think about other organisms living on our planet. All of the living things on Earth have adapted over millions of years by a process known as evolution by natural selection. This process was only made possible due to the relatively stable environment in which we live. Whilst I climate has changed over history, it has never changed at the rate which we are witnessing today. This rapid change in our climate could have a negative impact on living things on Earth as they may not be able to adapt at a rate quick enough to survive.