Greenland, the world’s largest island, has become the focus of intense global interest due to its staggering natural resource wealth. From critical raw materials like lithium and rare earth elements to vast hydrocarbon deposits, the island’s geological history has endowed it with an extraordinary bounty. However, as the effects of climate change accelerate the melting of Greenland’s ice sheets, this treasure trove of resources has become a double-edged sword.
Geologists have long been fascinated by Greenland’s diverse geological makeup, which has been shaped by over 4 billion years of tectonic activity. The island’s periods of mountain building, rifting, and volcanic activity have led to the deposition of a wide range of valuable minerals and metals, including gold, gems, and graphite. Notably, Greenland is predicted to hold substantial reserves of dysprosium and neodymium, two of the most economically important yet difficult-to-source rare earth elements, which are crucial for the production of wind turbines, electric motors, and high-temperature magnets.
The sheer scale of Greenland’s resource potential has sparked extensive research by both Denmark and the United States into the commercial and environmental viability of new activities like mining and oil and gas extraction. The US Geological Survey estimates that the onshore and ice-covered areas of northeast Greenland alone contain around 31 billion barrels of oil-equivalent in hydrocarbons, comparable to the US’s entire proven crude oil reserves.
However, the accelerating melting of Greenland’s ice sheets, driven by climate change, has created an unfortunate dilemma. As the island’s ice-free area, nearly double the size of the UK, becomes more accessible, the temptation to exploit its natural wealth grows. Yet, doing so would further contribute to the very environmental changes that are making these resources available in the first place, potentially exacerbating the effects of climate change on Greenland and beyond.
Greenland’s government has maintained a comprehensive legal framework to regulate mining and resource extraction activities since the 1970s. But as the US continues to express strong interest in Greenland’s future, there are concerns that pressure to loosen these controls and grant new exploration and exploitation licenses may increase. This delicate balance between economic opportunity and environmental stewardship will be a critical challenge for Greenland and the international community in the years to come.
