It’s widely feared climate change could melt the Arctic, causing global chaos. Enter Peter Flynn, Poole Chair in Management for Engineers at the University of Alberta, with a scheme to save the world.

Up Here: What’s your plan to thicken the Arctic ice?
Peter Flynn: It would involve 8,100 barges that head into the Arctic Ocean in the fall, then use wind turbines to pump seawater from under the ice onto the surface, where it freezes.

UH: And the barges are unmanned?
PF: That's right. They would position themselves automatically, but we'd have a control centre on land to oversee them. The plan also budgets for 32 helicopters to fly in and do maintenance on pumps and wind-power systems. We’d have to build a harbour and an airbase, of course.

UH: Seems kind of out-there – how did you come up with that?
PF: I was inspired by the ice bridges Northerners build every year. All we’d need is seven metres of thickness.

UH: Sounds like an expensive proposition.
PF: Yeah, it comes to $45 billion – we were shocked ourselves. But when you think about it, around 100 million people in Europe are in serious threat. So that’s down to $500 a head, which suddenly sounds reasonable.

UH: When would you start the project?
PF: Ideally, never. By far the best solution to the Arctic ice problem, and climate change overall, is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. My geoengineering fix would only come into play as a last choice – in a crisis.