27 August 2009 - A report from the highly-respected Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK says that without geo-engineering it will be impossible to combat climate change. It proposes three geo-engineering ideas, including a forest of 'artificial trees' to help soak up the world's carbon emissions.
The report includes a 100-year roadmap to 'decarbonize' the global economy.
The report defines two types of geo-engineering. The first category aims to cool the planet by reflecting some of the sunlight away, while the second involves the removal and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The team studied hundreds of different options, but put forward just three as being practical and feasible using current technology.
According to Dr. Fox, the report's lead author, artificial trees are already at the prototype stage and are advanced in their design in terms of their automation and in the components that would be used.
He added, "They could, within a relatively short duration, be moved forward into mass production and deployment."
The trees would work on the principle of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air through a filter. The CO2 would then be removed from the filter and stored. The report calls for the technology to be developed in conjunction with carbon storage infrastructure.
Another of the proposed methods of capturing carbon is to install what they term 'algae based photobioreactors' on buildings. These would be transparent containers containing algae that would remove CO2 from the air during photosynthesis.
The third option focuses on the reduction of incoming solar radiation by reflecting sunlight back into space. The report says the simplest way of doing this is for buildings to have reflective roofs.
Launching the report Dr. Fox said geo-engineering should not be viewed as a 'silver bullet' that could combat climate change in isolation. Rather it should be used in conjunction with efforts to reduce carbon emissions and to adapt to the effects of climate change report the BBC.
The authors of the report also stressed that all of these options will require more research, and called on the UK government to invest £10m ($16m) in analysis of the effectiveness, risks and costs of geo-engineering.