Trump's Greenland threats risk climate research

US President Donald Trump's vows to take over Greenland have chilled relationships between American and Greenlandic researchers, halting some projects and making future collaborations uncertain.

- Danielle Bochove

A photo shows a polar bear on sea ice in the Fram Strait, between Svalbard and Greenland, in 2023.

(TRINE LISE SVIGGUM HELGERUD/NORWEGIAN POLAR INSTITUTE VIA NYT)

Ross Virginia, a professor emeritus of environmental studies at Dartmouth College, said a climate programme he ran with Greenlandic colleagues was halted by "mutual agreement" due to the tensions.

"Direct cooperation is paused while we determine what a future vision for collaborative science diplomacy - particularly involving education and younger students - could look like," he said.

Another US scientist, who asked not to be identified for fear of jeopardising relationships, said some of his research partnerships in Greenland were paused even before Mr Trump escalated talk of annexation in early January, and that he suspended fieldwork out of respect for Greenlanders.

While Mr Trump has recently softened his line on the US gaining control of the Arctic island - a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark and home to about 57,000 people - the tensions are hampering scientific work that is critical to understanding climate change, not just in the polar region but on a global scale.