Could this be the answer to the problem of climate change?

US scientists have reportedly made a breakthough towards making a machine that is capable of sucking carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.  The team of US scientists, led by Klaus Lackner, say they plan to have a working prototype of the machine made within the next two years. 

The carbon sucking devise will be capable of capturing a tonne of CO2 from the air per day, and will be small enough to fit inside a shipping container.  The initial cost of the device would be around £100,000, but this would be more than offset by the amount of carbon each unit would trap, the scientists assert.

The new invention could make the team of US scientists eligible for the Virgin Earth Challenge, where Richard Branson pledged $25 million to the inventor of a way to remove a billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.

The team is also working on ways to dispose of the pure CO2 gas produced by each scrubber.

Lackner told the Guardian newspaper: “I wouldn’t write across the front page that the problem is solved, but this will help. We are in a hurry to deal with climate change and will be very hard pressed to stop the train before we get to 450ppm [CO2 in the atmosphere]. This can help stop the train.”

He added: “Our project has reached the stage where it is quite clear we can do it. We need to start dealing with all these emissions. I’d rather have a technology that allows us to use fossil fuels without destroying the planet, because people are going to use them anyway.”