The "Green" in Greenland

Since President Trump’s first term in office, he has reinforced his interest in purchasing Greenland. The president attributed his interest to “National Security and Freedom throughout the world”- however, this seems to contradict the US Isolationism policies with characteristics such as halting military aid to Ukraine, withdrawing from the World Health Organization, and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. 

Photo Credit: Shutterstock 

Why Greenland? 

The geolocation, alongside the melting of the Arctic Ocean, marks the area’s lucrative shipping opportunities; the volumes of unique ships entering the Arctic Polar Code area grew by 37% from 2013 to 2023. Geopolitical-wise, Finland and Sweden joined NATO respectively in 2023 and 2024 after Russia invaded Ukraine, which elevates the overall importance of the Arctic. The U.S. Pituffik Space Base hosted in Greenland is also vital for missile early warning and space surveillance, positioning the land’s military importance. 

Moreover, Greenland possesses 39 out of 50 minerals that the U.S. classified critical to national security and economic stability. Minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite are crucial to batteries while copper is integral for grid expansion and repair. As of 2024, China supplies more than half of U.S. imports for 19 critical minerals; acquiring Greenland will give the U.S. access to not only the critical minerals but also one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of rare earth elements, which China is currently responsible for 70% of production globally. 

U.S. Medium-term (2025–2035) criticality matrix

Rare Earth Elements  

Rare Earth Elements can be found in a wide range of clean technologies and energy systems, such as wind turbines, batteries, and fuel cells. These elements are abundant in the earth’s crust, but at low concentrations and are hard to separate from other elements. With a different standard for labor regulations, human rights and environmental considerations, Chinese companies are able to offer the elements at a much cheaper price. 

Greenland’s extreme weather, small population, and lack of roads and ports make mining challenging; currently, there are only two active mines on the island. In 2021, the green, leftwing Inuit Ataqatigiit party government got voted, which kept its campaign promise and passed legislation to ban uranium mining. Residents were alarmed by mining because of the potential radioactive waste, and waterways contamination- as three legacy mines in Greenland caused metal pollution and areas are still polluted after 50 years. 

Protest against uranium mining

“We’ll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%,” Trump said, without taking the possibility of using military force off the table; Greenland’s new Prime Minister, 33-year-old Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded by stating that “the United States won’t get that. We do not belong to anyone else.” A recent poll showed that 85% of Greenlanders said no when asked if they wanted to become a part of the United States. So far, the interest in Greenland's acquisition is still one-sided, with strong opposition from Greenland and its residents.