"geoengineering"

Constructing a forest of 'artificial trees' is one of the most promising technologies to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, according to a report published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK. The report also calls for a national UK programme for research and development into "geoengineering" projects that could provide a better understanding of the risks and costs of manipulating the climate. The artificial "trees" shown above along the highway would take in more carbon dioxide than do real trees.

Most attempts to deal with climate change involve reducing emissions of CO2 and in December the United Nations Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen will attempt to set binding targets for lowering such emissions for the first time. Yet even an agreement to cut CO2 emission by 50% by 2050 may not be enough to stop the planet's average temperature rising by 2 °C by the end of the century.

Geoengineering – deliberate intervention into the climate system to counteract man-made global warming – offers an alternative approach. The new report, Geoengineering – Giving us Time to Act?, looks at different geoengineering options for tackling climate change, including adding iron to the oceans to produce phytoplankton blooms that then absorb CO2 and constructing giant sunshades in space that can reflect the Sun's rays.