Attempts to save the world from global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while continuing to burn fossil fuels are unlikely to prevent the oceans from dying as a result of a build-up of acidity, scientists have found.

Some commentators have suggested a “plan B” if climate talks fail to curb fossil fuel use, with carbon-dioxide removal being a prime contender using technology that still has to be developed – Sir Richard Branson has promised a $25m prize to the first person to demonstrate that it works.

Climate change Show all 7 1 /7 Climate change Climate change Coastal systems and low-lying areas Flood damaged streets in Queens, New York where the historic boardwalk was washed away due to Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The report predicts that by the end of the century “hundreds of millions of people will be affected by coastal flooding and displaced due to land loss” Getty Climate change Food security Widespread drought devastated a corn crop on a farm near Bruceville, Indiana in 2012. The report forecasts that climate change will reduce median yields by up to 2 per cent per decade for the rest of the century AFP/Getty Climate change The global economy The Evening Standard headline board showing the words 'Black Friday Shares Crash' in London in October 2008 in London. The report warns a global mean temperature increase of 2.5C above pre-industrial levels may lead to global aggregate economic losses of between 0.2 and 2.0 per cent Getty Climate change Human health A child suffering from malnutrition and diarrhoea is seen at the Banadir hospital in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu in 2009. Climate change will lead to increases in ill-health in many regions, with examples including an increased likelihood of under-nutrition. Getty Climate change Human security A Muslim migrant holds his son as they are detained at the Immigration Police Office on the Thai-Malaysian border in March 2014. The report states that climate change over the 21st century will have a significant impact on forms of migration that compromise human security EPA Climate change Freshwater resources A villager walks through a parched paddy in Tianlin county, China in 2012. The report finds that climate change will “reduce renewable surface water and groundwater resources significantly in most dry subtropical regions" Getty Climate change Unique landscapes Machair, a grassy coastal habitat found only in north-west Scotland and the west coast of Ireland, is one of the several elements of the UK’s “cultural heritage” that is at risk from climate change Getty

However, a study by scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany has discovered that even if an efficient method is found to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it will not stop the oceans for becoming acidic due to CO2 dissolving to form carbonic acid.

“Geoengineering measures are currently being debated as a kind of last resort to avoid dangerous climate change – either in the case that policymakers find no agreement to cut CO2 emissions, or to delay the transformation of our energy systems,” said Sabine Mathesius, the lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.