Scientists have explored the possibility of pumping rising seawater on to the Antarctic - but abandoned the idea because it's simply too difficult.
Researchers in Germany investigated the concept as a way to deal with rising sea levels.
But they found that while the pumped water would freeze to solid ice - storing the water for hundreds of years - it would need to be transported at least 430 miles (690km) inland.
An operation of that scale would require more than a tenth of the current annual global energy supply to balance the current rate of sea-level rise.
The approach would also have meant effectively sacrificing the Antarctic.
If the water was pumped any closer to the edge of the Antarctic, it would likely push existing ice outward - accelerating the natural ice loss process.
Anders Levermann, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact, said: "The magnitude of sea-level rise is so enormous, it turns out it is unlikely that any engineering approach imaginable can mitigate it."
If the Earth continues to warm at the current rate, some scientists have estimated that the sea could rise by up to 130cm by 2100.
The report's lead author, Katja Frieler, said: "This is huge. Local adaptation, for instance building dikes, will not be physically possible or economically feasible everywhere.
"Protection may depend on your economic situation - so New York might be saved, but sadly not Bangladesh, and this clearly raises an equity issue."
Mr Levermann concluded that there was likely "no engineering approach imaginable" that could mitigate rising sea levels.
The full report was published in the Earth System Dynamics journal.
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