British geo-engineers are proposing the installation of thousands of artificial trees, devices that capture carbon dioxide, in the next 20 years to slow down global warming.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) said Thursday the synthetic trees that resemble giant fly swats convert home, car and factory emissions into collectible form that could be stored underground. The device is based on a carbon capturing technology developed by Klaus Lackner of Columbia University in New York.

Such artificial trees can be put up along highways or located near empty oil and gas reserves, where the collected CO2 will be dumped, according to Tim Fox, an official of IME.

IME said 100,000 artificial trees in fitted in 1,500 acres can absorb the whole of Britain's carbon emissions. Five to 10 million such units can capture the world's CO2 output.

Making and running each artificial tree, which costs $20,000 each, will require less energy, only less than five percent of the total CO2 it will capture over its lifetime, according to Lackner.

Aside from the artificial trees, the IME is also proposing the installation of plastic tubes with algae on the sides of buildings to convert CO2 into charcoal that could be buried and painting city roofs white to lessen urban heat and usage of air-conditioners.