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US President Donald Trump’s speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (Photo by Mandel NGAN \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a chilly week in geopolitics. President Donald J. Trump threatened to take Greenland from an ally by force, if necessary. He then retracted the threat of violence if not the desire for the Danish territory in a longwinded speech at the World Economic Forum in snowy Davos, Switzerland. <\/p>\n
After the stunning deposition of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro in a raid by United States (U.S.) forces, world leaders must take an emboldened Trump\u2019s words both seriously and literally. The resulting chilling effect on U.S. enemies and allies alike will long outlast the annual gathering of world leaders. <\/p>\n
Some commentary has suggested that Trump\u2019s lust for Greenland came out of nowhere, but it\u2019s not even the first time the U.S. has tried to buy it — it\u2019s at least the fourth since 1867 and it is the exact kind of sparsely populated, large land mass that the U.S. has successfully purchased in its history. The growing importance of the Arctic region is not a new story at all. You\u2019ll need to borrow French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s sunglasses to block out that blinding reality in a warming world<\/a>. <\/p>\n France’s President Emmanuel Macron gestures during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n So, here are a few reasons why this is not the last we are going to hear about Greenland.<\/p>\n Economic Importance<\/p>\n Increased global temperatures will lead to increased seasonal thawing in the Arctic. In practice, ice-free summers will open up additional shipping lanes as decreasing ice leads to increasing activity. The steady technological improvement of ice-breaking ships will also expand the season.<\/p>\n The Northern Sea Route could increase from 20\u201330 days of navigability per year to about 90\u2013100 days by later this century according to the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit<\/a>. For ships traveling from the North Pacific to northern Europe, that route is 40 percent shorter than the more widely used Suez Canal Route and would increase efficiency and trade volumes between Europe and China. Paired with the strained transatlantic relationship, such new options could inspire the European Union (E.U.) to fall further into China\u2019s seductive economic embrace. <\/p>\n The E.U. as a block and the U.S. have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship and the most integrated economic relationship in the world, representing almost 30% of global trade in goods and services and 43% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) according to the European Council. While China continues to be the U.S.\u2019 third largest trading partner, the 2025 tariff war has already led China to seek other export markets beyond the U.S. They have found eager buyers for cheap stuff and lower prices in European consumers<\/a> even if that makes European businesses and policymakers wary. <\/p>\n It would not bode well for U.S. businesses or consumers if the E.U. and China pulled away from it and closer to each other in trade while also selling off U.S. assets. A shorter Arctic trade route could accelerate this process.<\/p>\n Untapped Resources<\/p>\n The Arctic region contains abundant untapped resources that have thus far been impractical to exploit. As sea ice thaws, the prospect of resource extraction will be appealing in an energy-hungry world where climate pragmatism is the new guideline.<\/p>\n Oil and gas exploration is an obvious temptation. Just look at nearby Alaska where energy production is the main driver of the state economy, accounting for thousands of jobs and 80 percent of its revenue according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).<\/p>\n