Worrying losses
According to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), ice melt has accelerated in recent decades. New ice continues to form every year, but not as much as is melting. Ice loss in the 1990s amounted to around 41 billion tonnes per year, compared with 187 billion tonnes in the 2000s and 286 billion tonnes in the 2010s. Since 1972, sea level has risen by 7.5 cm since the 1990s, and is increasing by 3.2 mm every year. Half of this increase is the result of melting over the last eight years. In addition, the outpouring of freshwater into the oceans is altering their chemical composition and impacting biodiversity. Sealers and whalers in Qaanaaq claim that the sea ice is one metre thinner today than it used to be.
Uncertain effects
Another worrying phenomenon was recently exposed in a study published in the journal Nature: the appearance of dense "ice patches" in the Greenland ice sheet, forming an impermeable barrier that prevents the evacuation of meltwater. Between 2001 and 2014, these patches gained an area of 65,000 km², more than twice the size of Belgium. According to researchers, the more these plates expand, the more the ice sheet will contribute to rising sea levels. If the Greenland ice sheet were to disappear completely, sea levels would rise by 7 meters. Every year, the icebergs in the extension of the ice sheet break up in spectacular phenomena known as calving. The famous Jakobshavn glacier is the fastest melting. On the west coast of Greenland, 250 km north of the Arctic Circle, the frozen Ilulissat fjord is considered a symbol of global warming. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. It's a prime location for observing the melting of glaciers, and a popular destination for climatologists and tourists alike. The Icefjord Center observation center in Ilulissat, open to the public since 2021, welcomes visitors in a sublime structure designed by architect Dorte Mandrup. The center offers exhibitions, lectures and information on nearby hikes.
At COP21 in 2015, Vittus Qujaukitsoq, Greenland's Minister of Finance, Mineral Resources and Foreign Affairs at the time, said that climate change in Greenland should be considered a political priority, and stressed the importance of incorporating Inuit knowledge and experience on the subject. The Greenland Institute of Natural Resources continuously monitors the physical and chemical changes affecting the territory. It is the focal point for scientific research activities in the country, with a particular focus on the sea's biological resources. The Greenland Climate Research Center is involved in a number of projects aimed at improving understanding of the processes affecting sea ice and its propagation. In addition to sea ice, research is carried out in various fields of natural and social sciences, often in collaboration with Danish and foreign research institutes.
Impacted lifestyles
Climate change is having a direct impact on Greenland's way of life. The summer season is longer and warmer. Warmer temperatures have lengthened fishing seasons and encouraged the arrival of new species such as mackerel, herring, Atlantic bluefin tuna and cod. Most locals see this as an opportunity. Similarly, agriculture is developing in areas that were previously too hostile. Potatoes, in particular, are being grown, as are strawberries. On the other hand, the use of sled dogs for hunting is declining, due to the thinness of the ice. Nowadays, they are more often used for tourism. Another activity has also emerged: the trade in iceberg water, reputed to be very pure. It is sold in one-liter bottles, or used in alcohol-based preparations.
Until recently, the high seas of the Central Arctic Ocean were ice-covered all year round, making fishing impossible in these waters. To prevent fishing activities from accelerating the disruption, an international agreement banning all high-seas commercial fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean for at least 16 years was reached in 2018. It was signed by the European Union, Canada, China, Denmark - acting on behalf of Greenland and the Faroe Islands - Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Russia and the United States.
The hunt for new resources
Another consequence of global warming: the land freed from the ice is rich in uranium and rare earths, materials used in new technologies and therefore highly coveted. An Australian company has identified a deposit that it believes may be the world's largest reserve. The extraction of these materials will not, however, be without significant environmental impact. The country's subsoil is also home to natural resources such as oil, gas, gold and diamonds. According to some estimates, the oil reserves in the island's coastal waters represent half of the North Sea's stock.
What's more, global warming is opening up previously impassable shipping lanes in the Arctic. These routes off Greenland allow goods to be transported between Asia, Europe and American East Coast ports in several days' time. As a result, the country is now attracting a great deal of geostrategic interest. In the summer of 2019, US President Donald Trump announced his interest in buying the territory of Greenland. The proposal provoked both outraged and amused reactions. Denmark replied that the territory was not for sale. Yet the subject is more serious than it seems. The United States has real interests here, as does China, which wants to develop mining and transport activities, as part of its global development project for the New Silk Roads. Russia also has its eye on the territory for military reasons. For the independentists, this renewed interest and the potential economic spin-offs are seen as an opportunity. According to the agreement signed with Denmark in 2008, the province will only be able to achieve full emancipation if it can do without its subsidies, which currently account for 60% of its economy.
