Greenland is not an island, but an energy price

Greenland is not an island, but an energy price

Greenland is not an island, but an energy price

Since Donald Trump first came to power in 2016, the world has fundamentally changed.

De energietransitie, de strijd om zeldzame aardmetalen en de hernieuwde grootmachtpolitiek hebben de internationale orde herschikt.

However, one thing has remained unchanged: Trump's confrontational approach towards allies and opponents.

His latest target is Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, after she once again refused to sell Greenland to the United States.

“I think we’re going to have it,” verklaarde Trump afgelopen weekend aan boord van Air Force One. Toen Frederiksen in een telefoongesprek duidelijk maakte dat Groenland niet te koop is en Denemarken geen soevereiniteit overdraagt, volgde de dreiging met importheffingen. Klassiek Trump: economische druk als geopolitiek wapen.

But those who think this is about a real estate deal are missing the bigger picture.

Energy, rare earths, and power

Groenland is sinds 1721 onderdeel van het Deense koninkrijk, maar heeft de afgelopen decennia steeds meer autonomie gekregen. Onafhankelijkheid is het officiële einddoel. Precies dát maakt het eiland interessant voor grootmachten. Niet vanwege de bevolking, maar vanwege wat er onder het ijs ligt.

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Groenland beschikt over enorme voorraden zeldzame aardmetalen, uranium, ijzererts en mogelijk strategische energiebronnen. Deze grondstoffen zijn cruciaal voor de energietransitie, defensie-industrie, windturbines, elektrische auto’s en militaire technologie. Door het smelten van de ijskappen worden deze reserves steeds beter bereikbaar. In geopolitieke termen: wie Groenland controleert, heeft een sleutelpositie in de toekomstige energiemarkt.

Additionally, Greenland is strategically located between the United States, Russia, and Europe, in the Arctic region where new shipping routes are emerging and military influence is expanding. The U.S. already has a military base for missile detection there. Russia and China are closely monitoring.

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America First is resource policy

Trump first expressed his desire to "buy" Greenland in 2019. This fits perfectly within his worldview. According to him, international cooperation is of no benefit to the U.S. anymore. What matters is direct access to resources, energy, and strategic positions. Ideology gives way to power politics.

In this sense, Trump does not act any differently than Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping. While Putin uses energy as a geopolitical pressure tool and China uses its grip on rare earths to make the West dependent, Trump simply wants to prevent America from losing that battle. Democratic values are subordinate to strategic interests.

Greenland as a chess piece

Hoogleraar Internationale Betrekkingen Peter Trubowitz (London School of Economics) stelde eerder dat Trumps buitenlandbeleid geen chaos is, maar een patroon volgt: minder multilateralisme, meer transacties, meer druk. Groenland is daarin geen uitzondering, maar een logisch volgende zet.

For Denmark and Greenland itself, the situation is different. “Greenland is for Greenlanders,” they rightly say. But in a world where energy, rare metals, and military control are the new currency, self-determination matters less and less.

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The harsh reality

The discussion about Greenland is not about diplomatic etiquette, but about who controls the resources of the future. In that world, there is one lesson that Putin has understood for years: those who control energy and land control power.

Trump knows that. The question is not whether he is right, but how far the US is willing to go to ensure that.

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What does Trump want with Greenland? Follow through the broadcast of News Hour:

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