The new Treasure Island
30/12/19 11:31![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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talkpolitics"There's good news in every bad news", Greenlandic MP Yulianne Henningsen recently noted about climate change that is affecting her country. Sure, Greenlanders cannot hunt in the winter season any more, as the ice cover has thinned out, but on the other hand they can now grow potatoes and even vegetables in their homes, something they never thought possible before.
The Greenland ice cover is melting away faster than previously anticipated. And this is raising huge appetites, because there are treasures hiding beneath: precious stones, iron ores, and all sorts of rare soils. The world's most powerful countries are already salivating after these treasures. The Chinese energy minister has visited the island eight times by now, the US has been sending high-ranking diplomats and military officers there for years; EU, Canadian, Japanese, South Korean, Australian envoys also regularly visit Greenland these days. Last summer, US president Trump caused quite a stir with his "plans" to purchase Greenland from Denmark. All in all, there is a lot of movement around the frozen island (which is not going to remain frozen for too long).
So the world's largest island is growing in significance by the day. And not just for its hidden riches, but also the new opportunities. Suddenly, new sea routes are opening up that will drastically cut the length of the cargo lines between Asia, Europe and North America. The ice melt is revealing Greenland's treasures, and people are starting to feel greedy. It is estimated that 13% of the world's oil deposits are stored under the ice, along with 30% of the gas. There is a lot of zinc, lead, iron, gold, silver, diamonds, copper, nickel, platinum, uranium and various rare metals nowadays used in hi-tech gadgets, wind turbines, car parts, etc.
The recession of the ice sheet is freeing up giant quantities of gravel and sand. And sand is growing in value, being the main ingredient of concrete and asphalt. Whoever controls this market, sets the prices of these materials.
Thus, Greenland is now becoming a focus of global geopolitics. There will hardly be another spot on Earth where economic, military and political interest is intertwined and clashes with such acuteness like in Greenland for the next few decades, and a number of governments are seeing the opportunity, and scrambling to occupy the best starting position in this new race.
German chancellor Angela Merkel recently admitted it was a mistake to underestimate the strategic sifnificance of the Arctic region. NATO is watching with concern how Russia is constantly expanding its submarine fleet and how the Russian military bases are encroaching ever closer to Greenland. China is not left too far behind, either. When the Chinese proposed to build new airports on the island and take over a former US navy base, the US protested to Denmark, which is the country still running Greenland's foreign policies. In result, Denmark sent the Chinese away, and started investing in the region itself. China's interest is to maintain its dominance on the rare metals market by taking control of the Greenland deposits, and prevent the emergence of potential rivals in this domain.
As of now, almost all rubies and sapphires in the world are mined in Greenland. The international companies are still withholding big investment, because the working conditions still remain relatively difficult: there are still too few air runways, Greenland practically lacks any roads, railroads, and many ports are inaccessible for months because the ice cover is still holding throughout winter. Still, the race for future profit is on. And it will be intensifying in the years to come. Indeed, if you wanted proof for climate change, you needn't look much further than Greenland.
The Greenland ice cover is melting away faster than previously anticipated. And this is raising huge appetites, because there are treasures hiding beneath: precious stones, iron ores, and all sorts of rare soils. The world's most powerful countries are already salivating after these treasures. The Chinese energy minister has visited the island eight times by now, the US has been sending high-ranking diplomats and military officers there for years; EU, Canadian, Japanese, South Korean, Australian envoys also regularly visit Greenland these days. Last summer, US president Trump caused quite a stir with his "plans" to purchase Greenland from Denmark. All in all, there is a lot of movement around the frozen island (which is not going to remain frozen for too long).
So the world's largest island is growing in significance by the day. And not just for its hidden riches, but also the new opportunities. Suddenly, new sea routes are opening up that will drastically cut the length of the cargo lines between Asia, Europe and North America. The ice melt is revealing Greenland's treasures, and people are starting to feel greedy. It is estimated that 13% of the world's oil deposits are stored under the ice, along with 30% of the gas. There is a lot of zinc, lead, iron, gold, silver, diamonds, copper, nickel, platinum, uranium and various rare metals nowadays used in hi-tech gadgets, wind turbines, car parts, etc.
The recession of the ice sheet is freeing up giant quantities of gravel and sand. And sand is growing in value, being the main ingredient of concrete and asphalt. Whoever controls this market, sets the prices of these materials.
Thus, Greenland is now becoming a focus of global geopolitics. There will hardly be another spot on Earth where economic, military and political interest is intertwined and clashes with such acuteness like in Greenland for the next few decades, and a number of governments are seeing the opportunity, and scrambling to occupy the best starting position in this new race.
German chancellor Angela Merkel recently admitted it was a mistake to underestimate the strategic sifnificance of the Arctic region. NATO is watching with concern how Russia is constantly expanding its submarine fleet and how the Russian military bases are encroaching ever closer to Greenland. China is not left too far behind, either. When the Chinese proposed to build new airports on the island and take over a former US navy base, the US protested to Denmark, which is the country still running Greenland's foreign policies. In result, Denmark sent the Chinese away, and started investing in the region itself. China's interest is to maintain its dominance on the rare metals market by taking control of the Greenland deposits, and prevent the emergence of potential rivals in this domain.
As of now, almost all rubies and sapphires in the world are mined in Greenland. The international companies are still withholding big investment, because the working conditions still remain relatively difficult: there are still too few air runways, Greenland practically lacks any roads, railroads, and many ports are inaccessible for months because the ice cover is still holding throughout winter. Still, the race for future profit is on. And it will be intensifying in the years to come. Indeed, if you wanted proof for climate change, you needn't look much further than Greenland.
