Greenland is estimated to have some of the world's largest untapped oil and gas resources.

[CoopersDad]

Greenland’s fossil fuel ban is up in the air after recent election

US president Donald Trump thrust Greenland to the centre of global politics when he proposed to buy the vast, icebound island at the start of the year. With the world watching, Greenlandic voters went to the polls on March 11 2025 and delivered a landslide victory for a party that told Trump, “We are not for sale.”

Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and its struggle for independence is a major political battleground. Both the right-wing Demokraatit (Democrats), now the largest party, and the socialist Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) that they recently decimated are pro-independence. However, they also want a slower independence process than the populist-nationalist Naleraq, which also did well in the election.

While foreign observers may have had their attention drawn to Greenland by Trump, they shouldn’t look away now. The outcome of this election has made a fossil-fuelled future for Greenland more likely, just when the escalating climate crisis demands an urgent global transition to renewable energy.

Crucial to Greenland’s future is its base of economic production. Greenland is estimated to have some of the world’s largest untapped oil and gas resources.

https://theconversation.com/greenlands-fossil-fuel-ban-is-up-in-the-air-after-recent-election-252071#:~:text=Greenland%20is%20estimated%20to%20have,Greenland%20about%20half%20of%20that.

[bamagal62]

1. Well, there you go.

And, they have a bunch of rare earth minerals that the tech bros want.

[SheltieLover]

2. Well, there it is...

Always something for slobby to exploit.

[CoopersDad]

3. JD Vance is there now, telling them to disconnect from Denmark.

And let the US be their partner in prosperity.

Fossil Fuels, yup.

[SheltieLover]

6. I'm sure they're not stupid.

Beardo should stfu & go home.

[PJMcK]

4. Good luck getting to it!

Ironic, isn’t it? Trump has Musk at his side, you know, the guy who allegedly pioneered the EV business. Yet Trump wants the supposed fossil fuels beneath Greenland.

Brilliant.

Or not.

[stillcool]

5. they also have precious metals

that are used in electric cars.

[Wiz Imp]

7. First of all, there really isn't that much oil & gas there

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/greenlands-government-bans-oil-drilling-leads-indigenous-resistance-to-extractive-capitalism/

Earlier this year, the US Geological Survey estimated that the region’s rocks contain 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil, and 30% of undiscovered gas – carbon sinks which have been greedily eyed up by states and oil companies alike. And many of these reserves lie in the seas west of Greenland – where there are an estimated 17.5 billion undiscovered barrels of oil, enough to supply the whole planet for six months, at current usage rates.

6 months worth isn't really a lot. More importantly, the cost of extracting the oil and gas currently Makes it extremely questionable if it's even economically feasible to try to tap it now. What's the point of drilling for oil if the process of drilling costs more than the value of the oil that you could extract?

https://www.csis.org/analysis/seizing-greenland-worse-bad-deal#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20economic%20feasibility%20of,due%20to%20environmental%20impact%20concerns.

However, the economic feasibility of resource exploration has been hampered by the territory’s remoteness and harsh weather, poor infrastructure, and a 2021 political decision to suspend the issuance of new licenses for oil and gas exploration due to environmental impact concerns.