Extended crop yield meta-analysis data do not support upward SCC revision

The Biden Administration raised its Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) estimate about fivefold based in part on global crop yield decline projections estimated on a meta-analysis data base first published in 2014. The data set contains 1722 records but half were missing at least one variable (usually the change in CO<sub>2</sub>) so only 862 were available for multivariate regression modeling. By re-examining the underlying sources I was able to recover 360 records and increase the sample size to 1222. Reanalysis on the larger data set yields very different results. While the original smaller data set implies yield declines of all crop types even at low levels of warming, on the full data set global average yield changes are zero or positive even out to 5 °C warming.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2025-02-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90254-2
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Climate change impacts on agriculture
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
12.11
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article

Extended crop yield meta-analysis data do not support upward SCC revision

Ross McKitrick
4 citations
Scientific Reports
Climate change impacts on agriculture
12.11
article

Extended crop yield meta-analysis data do not support upward SCC revision

Ross McKitrick
article en
4 citations

Abstract

The Biden Administration raised its Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) estimate about fivefold based in part on global crop yield decline projections estimated on a meta-analysis data base first published in 2014. The data set contains 1722 records but half were missing at least one variable (usually the change in CO<sub>2</sub>) so only 862 were available for multivariate regression modeling. By re-examining the underlying sources I was able to recover 360 records and increase the sample size to 1222. Reanalysis on the larger data set yields very different results. While the original smaller data set implies yield declines of all crop types even at low levels of warming, on the full data set global average yield changes are zero or positive even out to 5 °C warming.

Scientific ReportsVol. 15(1)
University of Guelph (CA)
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Climate change impacts on agriculture
12.11
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