A team of 11 leading engineering institutions from around the world have signed a joint statement declaring that some of the planet's brightest minds have already figured out how to reduce worldwide carbon emissions by 85% by 2050. The reason nobody already knew they could? Foot-dragging governments (they say).

Dr Colin Brown, Director of Engineering at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said in a press release on the IMechE website:

"While the world's politicians have been locked in talks with no output, engineers across the globe have been busy developing technologies that can bring down emissions and help create a more stable future for the planet.

"We are now overdue for government commitment, with ambitious, concrete emissions targets that give the right signals to industry, so they can be rolled out on a global scale."

The 11 organizations - which are convinced that new developments in wind, solar, hydro, biofuels and energy efficiency are all facets of the carbon solution - come from India, the UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, Denmark, Honduras, Sweden, Norway and Finland. There were no representative institutions from Canada or the United States.

Although their declaration seems to fall into self-back-patting territory, their goal can't be faulted; the hope of the allied groups is that world leaders attending the COP17 climate change talks in Durban, South Africa in December will make a commitment to giving emerging and established technological solutions the chance to succeed.



