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Beneath Greenland’s Ice Lies a Climate Solution—and a New Geopolitical Battleground

Published on: 2025-05-30 08:45:00

This story was produced by Grist and copublished with Wired. It was supported by the Pulitzer Center. Greenland’s massive cap of ice, containing enough fresh water to raise sea levels by 23 feet, is in serious trouble. Between 2002 and 2023, Greenland lost 270 billion tons of frozen water each year as winter snowfall failed to compensate for ever-fiercer summer temperatures. That's a significant contributor of sea level rise globally, which is now at a quarter of an inch a year. But underneath all that melting ice is something the whole world wants: the rare earth elements that make modern society—and the clean energy revolution—possible. That could soon turn Greenland, which has a population size similar to that of Casper, Wyoming, into a mining mecca. Greenland’s dominant industry has long been fishing, but its government is now looking to diversify its economy. While the island has opened up a handful of mines, like for gold and rubies, its built and natural environment makes dri ... Read full article.