Greenland Crisis Voices on the Threat

Experts: Melting Greenland Ice Sheet Contributes to Geopolitical Tensions

Global warming and climate change are rapidly turning Greenland into an area of ​​new opportunities and risks, reports the Washington Post. The Arctic is warming about four times faster than the rest of the world. This is making natural resources more accessible and opening up new shipping lanes.

Donald Trump has long talked about Greenland's untapped natural resources, including diamonds, lithium and copper.

- When the Arctic is at least seasonally free of ice, a whole new arena for economic and security competition is created, says Joseph Majkut of the CSIS Energy and Climate Program think tank.

The newspaper writes that global trade could fundamentally change if the Arctic becomes ice-free for longer periods.

Climate scientist Zack Labe says that climate change is a major contributor to "intense geopolitical tensions".

Expert: The most serious situation since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962

The international conflict that Trump's Greenland threat has led to is the most serious since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when the threat of nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union hung in the air. Erik Åsard, professor emeritus of North American studies, tells TV4 Nyheterna.

- I think Donald Trump has put himself in a position where he cannot easily back down. He is completely focused on the fact that he must own Greenland.

Unlike in his first term, no one in the White House dares to argue against Trump, and neither do the Republicans stand up to him, Åsard continues.

He sees three possible outcomes: a negotiated solution, an American military intervention, or Trump suddenly going out and declaring to the outside world that Greenland is part of the US.