Washington Post admits the obvious: "countries that are cold right now could see very real benefits from a few extra degrees"

Global warming would harm the Earth, but some areas might find it beneficial - The Washington Post

You don’t hear much talk about it, but countries that are cold right now could see very real benefits from a few extra degrees. Consider the Northern Sea shipping route, which runs through the Arctic waters north of Europe and Asia. It’s a faster and cheaper way to ship oil from Russia and Norway to markets around the world, but it’s currently too icy to navigate for much of the year. Climate change could open the route earlier and keep it clear later. It may also allow companies to extract new oil and mineral wealth from beneath the sea.

Immigration patterns may shift as different areas become more comfortable. In his book “The World in 2050,” UCLA professor Laurence C. Smith notes that cold-weather Canada has the look of a future superpower. Over the next four decades, the country’s population growth rate will be among the highest in the developed world.

There’s also a potential farming benefit. According to the International Panel on Climate Change, global warming could improve agricultural productivity in northern Europe.

The region might see as much as a 30 percent increase in wheat production, for example, by 2080. Some countries will become hospitable to foods they can’t grow in 2012. There may be a 50 percent increase in the areas of Sweden and Finland that are suitable for growing corn.