"European surprise" about global warming..

The chances of carbon dioxide "gathering" from the atmosphere to help tackle global warming are "limited," a new report said, calling for more efforts to reduce emissions. As the need for urgent response to the climate change problem grows, more attention is being paid to proposals for resorting to climate technologies ranging from spraying chemicals in the atmosphere to reducing sunlight to underground carbon dioxide collection and storage.

The Scientific Advisory Council of European Academies, which includes scientific academies of EU Member States, has reviewed scientific evidence on several options for carbon dioxide withdrawal from the atmosphere, known as negative emission techniques.

Examples include carbon dioxide capture, underground capture, afforestation and reforestation, Reuters reported.

The Council, which advises European officials, said there is little chance that these technologies will really succeed in carbon sequestration from the atmosphere and will not keep pace with the emission rate indicated by some climate forecasts, such as the release of large amounts of tonnes of carbon per year beyond 2050.

The use of these technologies on a large scale means high economic costs and will have significant impacts on the ecosystem of the land and the sea.

"Technologies that can pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere are certainly not magic treatments, which should lead decision makers to new efforts to accelerate emissions reductions," the report said.

"The world will need all possible means to reduce global warming and some of these technologies can contribute to carbon dioxide withdrawal from the atmosphere right now," he said.