Newly inaugurated Donald Trump has shown interest in taking control of Greenland, following a proposal to buy it from Denmark. As the BBC reported, he argued this was critical for “national security”.
This attention on Greenland, at a time when it’s closer than ever to being an independent country, is largely due to its proximity to Russia, its natural resources including uranium and iron, and the US miliary bases that already reside there.
Greenland is a Danish territory close to Russia with territorial claim to a large portion of the Arctic Circle. Since Trump claimed he wants to “drill baby drill” in his inauguration speech on 20th January, Trump has declared an “energy emergency” pushing the need to extract oil and gas in US territories, rather than importing.
Trump’s desire for energy independence comes from a belief that the US does not have energy security because it is reliant on other countries for energy imports. According to usafacts, in 2024 the United States imported 75% of crude oil and gas.
This has led to increased public concern from environmental groups who pair this desire to take Greenland with Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement.
This has led to increased public concern from environmental groups who pair this desire to take Greenland with Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement. Greenpeace has “condemned Trump’s “climate denial” with Greenpeace International Executive Director Mads Christensen commenting: “Trump and his cronies may push a pro-fossil fuel agenda domestically, but they cannot escape the momentum of global and state-level progress driving climate action forward.”
They continued saying: “Countries gambling on oil and gas extraction will be left floundering behind the clean energy transition.”
Russia had a serious oil spill releasing up to 5,000 tonnes of oil into the sea between Russia and Crimea. This has brought the environmentally damaging nature of oil extraction to public criticism.
Trump’s desire to control Greenland is also militant. Greenland’s proximity to Russia and its US Air Force military base, Pituffik Space Base, which, according to the base’s website, specifically addresses “mutual defense”, makes it desirable as a US state.
A Kremlin spokesperson, Peskov, told the BBC that the Arctic was in Russia’s “sphere of national and strategic interests and it is interested in peace and stability there.” US control of Greenland is of interest to Russia and to the EU.
As a BBC article a few weeks ago entailed, there are a few ways Trump’s interest in Greenland could go: interest is lost and Trump moves on; Greenland seeks independence and looks to draw closer ties with US; economic pressure is pushed on Greenland, or an invasion occurs.
In response, Denmark’s Prime Minister Frederiksen has stated “Greenland belongs to Greenlanders and it’s the Greenlanders themselves who have to define their future.”
Whilst MPs are calling out the Prime Minister for not being clearer in her rejection of Trump’s proposal, attention on this story has reduced since Trump’s inauguration.
Trump’s public intention to take control of Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada the week before his inauguration showcases his desire to be seen as politically powerful, with the potential miliary and economic influence to bring any country in the Americas into US control.
It’s been made clear that Greenland is not for sale, but, as Trump takes his position in The White House once again, taking his words and intentions seriously may be crucial in protecting the environment and maintaining international peace at a time of vulnerability.
