What's behind Greenland's global attraction? Climate change

EarthBeat Weekly
Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change

January 23, 2026

A file photo shows a large crevasse forms near the calving front of the Helheim glacier near Tasiilaq, Greenland. (CNS photo/Lucas Jackson, Reuters)

News cycles in the United States and around the world this week revolved around Greenland.

President Donald Trump has begun the second year of his second term with a renewed and aggressive fervor to acquire the semi-autonomous state that is part of Denmark. Leaders in Greenland, Denmark and many of their European allies have swiftly pushed back on Trump's imperialist pursuit, as they made clear in the days leading up to and through Davos, the annual economic forum in Switzerland.

Trump has said that owning Greenland is a matter of national security for the United States, expressing fears that China or Russia could take the territory instead.

One driving factor in the increased geopolitical attention on Greenland is tied directly to climate change. Greenland, the world's largest island largely covered in ice and snow, is melting rapidly as global temperatures continue to rise, primarily from greenhouse gas emissions released from burning fossil fuels. Studies have found the Arctic is heating four times faster than any other place on the planet.

[You may recall that Pope Leo XIV blessed a glacier chunk from Greenland in October during the Raising Hope for Climate Justice conference marking the 10-year anniversary of Laudato Si'.]

As its ice sheets melt, Greenland's vast stores of minerals become more accessible, as do potential shipping passages in the icy waters surrounding it. Kate Yoder and Matt Simon explain the situation well in an article this week at Grist:

"Already, Russian and Chinese ice breakers have begun traversing what's called the Northern Sea Route along Russia's coastline. It connects ports in Asia to those in Europe, and is much shorter than sailing through the Suez Canal. This polar route could cut shipping times by nearly 40 percent and costs by more than 20 percent. In October, Russia and China signed an agreement to develop the route, sometimes referred to as the "Polar Silk Road." If fossil fuel emissions continue as expected, most of the Arctic Ocean could be free of summer sea ice by 2050, reshaping global trade."
"Geological surveys suggest that the island is loaded with a slew of rare earth elements like the praseodymium used in batteries, the terbium that goes into screens, and even the neodymium that makes your phone vibrate. Perhaps most importantly for the Trump administration, these minerals are essential for defense purposes, including weapons and navigation systems. … But Greenland hasn't been mined extensively for good reason: It's difficult — and expensive — to work there."

Read the full article over at Grist.

Tensions around Greenland have left its small Catholic community feeling a mix of concern, discomfort and fear, as Camillo Barone reported this week at NCR.

"When Greenland suddenly appears again in global headlines, people feel exposed," said Franciscan Conventual Fr. Tomaž Majcen, pastor of Christ the King Parish in Nuuk and the only Catholic priest responsible for pastoral care in Greenland.

"It is strange to see your home discussed far away, often by people who have never been here," he told Barone.

For migrant Catholics in Nuuk — many from the Philippines, Poland and other parts of Europe and Latin America — Greenland represents stability, including strong social protections and predictable, though demanding work. The idea that global power struggles could disrupt that balance creates a quiet anxiety, said Maria Jacobsen, a 68-year-old Catholic woman from the Philippines who has lived in Greenland since 1996 and works as a sales assistant in a large retail company.

"I felt sad and insecure," she said. "We pray that [Trump] cannot buy Greenland, because, you know, the social help in Greenland is very good."

"We're all worried and afraid."

What else is new on EarthBeat:

Taking over Greenland 'a bridge way too far,' says Notre Dame security expert

by Catherine M. Odell, OSV News

As Trump boosts his rhetoric on the U.S. acquiring Greenland, whether by sale or force, Catholic social teaching has something to say to the situation, said a political scientist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

What's happening in other climate news:

Trump rollbacks put children's health at risk as pollution increases —Adam Mahoney for Capital B

Energy Dept. says it is canceling $30 billion in clean energy loans —Brad Plumer for The New York Times

How permanent is Trump's assault on climate action? —Zoya Teirstein for Grist

Half of fossil fuel carbon emissions in 2024 came from 32 companies —Dana Drugmand for Inside Climate News

Looming water supply 'bankruptcy' puts billions at risk, UN report warns —David Stanway for Reuters

Park Service erases climate facts at Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began —Maxine Joselow for The New York Times

Interpol-backed police make nearly 200 arrests in Amazon region gold mining sweep —Steven Grattan for the Associated Press

Final Beat:

On Thursday, NCR and the rest of the Catholic media world received sad news that John L. Allen Jr. had died after a long battle with cancer. Allen spent 17 years with NCR, mostly as its Vatican correspondent, developing a reputation during the papacies of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI as one of the leading U.S. insiders on Vatican affairs.

Christopher White, another former NCR Vatican correspondent who worked with Allen at Crux (the Catholic news site Allen founded), wrote a touching tribute to John. You can read it here.

As always, thanks for reading EarthBeat.

Brian Roewe
Environment Correspondent
National Catholic Reporter
broewe@ncronline.org