Slimy buildings and artifical trees touted as solutions to climate crisis

The government and the private sector are today being urged to put their hand in their pocket and provide increased financial support for geo-engineering research projects that could one day deliver the means to lower global temperatures.

According to a major new report from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (Imech), proposed geo-engineering techniques represent an increasingly viable means of tackling climate change, particularly given that the latest scientific evidence suggests current efforts to curb carbon emissions are unlikely to avoid dangerous increases in average temperatures of over 2°C.

"If certain geo-engineering techniques require research and testing, we should not wait until it's too late for them to have a lasting effect," the report states.

Last year climate change minister Joan Ruddock hinted that climate altering technologies were "potentially a Plan B", but the government currently regards geo-engineering as a low priority and has provided little direct funding for associated research projects.

The private sector, meanwhile, has been equally sceptical about providing finance for the development of technologies where there is currently no clear business model beyond the possibility of one day integrating climate altering systems into the global carbon market.

The Imech report warned that current levels of investment in geo-engineering technologies are inadequate and recommended that the government introduces funding for research projects, support pilots of the most promising schemes, and seek to promote commercial opportunities for the emerging technologies.

"The institute recommends that a roadmap to implementation be devised for a global transition to a low-carbon future incorporating geo-engineering," it said, adding that early investment could establish the UK as a global hub for the development of such technologies.

The report also assessed many of the geo-engineering technologies currently being proposed and concluded that three approaches were particularly promising.

The first involves machines which replicate trees by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it. The report estimates that the devices would cost around $20,000 (£12,300) each and five million "trees" would be able to capture all the non-energy sector carbon emissions pumped into the atmosphere each year.

The second option would see strips of algae applied to the outside of buildings that could then be occasionally harvested to create biofuels, while the third option, which has previously gained support from US energy secretary Steven Chu, would instead make the surface of buildings more reflective, reducing the amount of solar radiation absorbed by urban areas.

The report pre-empts a similar study from the Royal Society which is due to be published next week and is expected to assess the feasibility of a wider range of geo-engineering techniques, including gianrt space mirrors and "cloud ships" capable of creating high-level clouds that reflect the sun's rays.

Green groups remain highly sceptical of geo-engineering proposals, arguing that they distract from the urgent need to curb greenhouse gas emissions, would create major geo-political tensions regarding who controls the technology and in many cases fail to address associated environmental issues, such as air pollution, ocean acidification and soil erosion.