Refreeze the Arctic

Several of the stories in our anthology referenced refreezing the arctic such as Refreeze the Arctic, Drambers, Project Slowdown and Fairhaven. Scientists in Switzerland are currently trialling if it could work. We are aware that this is a radical proposition but an essential strategy if the climate crisis is to be averted. Are you ready for the challenge?

The Refreeze project establishes the non-profit Refreeze Foundation as a central organizational body, as well as the Refreeze Company, focused on technological research and development. This project is supported by experts such as Sir David King (Cambridge Climate Repair Centre), Stephen Salter (Emeritus Professor Engineering Design at Edinburgh University), Hans van der Loo (Chair Institute for Integrated Economical Research), Wouter van Dieren (Club of Rome, founder Milieudefensie) and Tom Bosschaert (Founder & Director Except Integrated Sustainability).

We have classed this solution as ‘audacious’ (high gain but also high risk).

The Arctic. Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Why is the ice melting such a big problem?

How does this solution rate on:

Climate impact: tonnes of carbon saved/removed	Albedo equivalent needs to be calibrated against CO2 – how much ice is equivalent to how much CO2.
Climate adaptation-resilience	Essential but unclear and uncertain.
Social justice i.e., addresses inequalities, diversity, inclusion	Low as nobody lives in the Arctic.
Cost of action needed to progress goal	Massive.
Which location is the solution most needed/applicable	The Arctic and surrounding glacier areas.
Risk	High risk. There is a chance of adverse consequences at scale but this is low.
Feasibility	This solution may not work, but there are numerous approaches that could be tried, many of which should make things less bad.

Do your own research on the solution

For some background reading, we recommend the Guardian section on sea ice or reading A Farewell to Ice by Peter Wadhams (a world authority on sea ice).

The Just Have a Think YouTube channel includes a wide range of accessible videos on the Arctic and Antarctica. The playlist also includes four conversations with Peter Wadhams.

The summer of 2020 saw record breaking heatwaves across the Arctic region resulting in the lowest ever recorded October sea ice levels. Those persistently warm temperatures also caused the thawing of permafrost and sediment on the seabed allowing the release of very high concentrations of methane – in some cases up to 400 times normal levels. So, have we now reached the long anticipated tipping point?

The Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge also has a series of YouTube videos which cover the solution of refreezing the Arctic.

You can also watch this exclusive interview with Hans Van Der Loo at the Clean Energy Summit:

Dr. Desch explores the impact of diminishing arctic ice on climate change, and proposes a novel solution for re-icing the arctic.

Latest visualization of the startling decline of Arctic Sea Ice, showing the minimum volume reached every September since 1979. At this rate, it is expected that the Arctic ocean will become ice-free for an increasingly large part of the year beginning sometime in the 2030s.

Interested in progressing this solution further?

Here are a series of steps you can take to progress this climate solution further. You can also contact us at greenstories@soton.ac.uk and we’d be happy to connect you with experts in these solutions to discuss further.

Actions for policymakers	Arctic states need to cooperate together to deliver this nearly impossible task.
Actions for funding bodies	Requires massive funding over a long period.
Actions for business	Buy albedo credits.
Actions for public	Find your government representative or Member of Parliament and email them, whether you are in Australia; Canada; UK; USA or elsewhere. Social media campaigns & lobbying of governments. Vote for ‘The Party of the Future’.