Carbon dioxide is an appealing renewable feedstock for industrial chemical processes. This does not mean, however, that all chemical processes using CO(2) are environmentally-friendly. Perspectives on the sustainability of CO(2) utilization and artificial photosynthesis are provided. The discussions focus on the photocatalytic production of C(x) (x≥ 2) compounds, where all the carbon in the products is derived from CO(2). This area of research, while promising, has received far less attention than analogous systems leading to C(1) products.