00:01Greenland, the largest island on Earth, lies between the Arctic and the Atlantic Ocean.
00:07Temperatures here have risen significantly in recent years, with extreme cold becoming more rare.
00:13While the higher temperatures have serious consequences for Greenland's environment, about 80% of which is covered by ice,
00:20there are now more opportunities for the tourism industry.
00:24Waterways have less ice, which could also open up new shipping routes and facilitate access to rich deposits of raw materials,
00:32one of the reasons why Donald Trump has laid claim to Greenland.
00:38Mi Wine-Ding is a climate researcher in the capital Nuuk. She's worried about the effects of climate change.
00:48The sea ice is getting thinner, but also the multi-layer sea ice is disappearing much faster.
00:53We can also see extreme events, so we can see sea ice break up in months,
00:57where we normally don't see sea ice breaking up.
00:59And we can see that the oceans are getting warmer and the glaciers are melting.
01:03So climate change is impacting many different levels.
01:07One of the most striking examples is the Elulisat Icefjord, which is losing mass due to rising temperatures.
01:13It's Greenland's most iconic natural wonder and a must-see for anyone visiting the country.
01:19Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, the fjord is now at the forefront of environmental change.
01:28We join a local captain who has spent his life navigating these waters on boat tours through the icebergs.
01:35He has seen first-hand the dramatic and rapid effects of climate change.
01:43I've been sailing since I was a small kid with my father.
01:47When I was a little kid, those huge icebergs, they were bigger.
01:52He's seen a sharp rise in tourists, especially winter cruise ships.
01:56Now there is more tourism than five years ago.
02:02Elulisat Icefjord Center is located at the edge of the fjord.
02:06There, visitors can learn about the culture of the region and the impacts of climate change.
02:12We sat down with director Carl Sandgreen to learn more.
02:15If you want to see the climate change, you have to go to Greenland because you can feel the change.
02:22Even on the ground, we have some huge cracks in the coast because the permafrost is melting very fast and the houses are sinking as well.
02:31We really have to think about if we want to have a lot of too many tourists that are coming from the rest of the world.
02:39We don't want to be overcrowded because the immersion of carbon is too high from the planes and the ships as well.
02:47We want to have the tourists, but we need a balance for it.
02:51Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, is home to fewer than 20,000 people, but already the tourism boom has brought about many changes.
02:58The new international airport in Nuuk, opened at the end of 2024, was a game-changer.
03:06Now more airlines service the airport and flights from abroad no longer have to make a stop inland.
03:13Jakob Niter Sorensen, CEO of Air Greenland, describes this as a historic turning point for the country's tourism industry.
03:21Tourism in Greenland is now a new point. We are seeing mass interest in Greenland and the expansion of Nuuk Airport and the upcoming expansion of El Ulysset Airport will make Greenland more accessible to tourists.
03:38It will be easier to come to Nuuk and El Ulysset and the other destinations and it will be faster and that in itself will increase the demand.
03:45Experts say the decisions made now by the tourism industry could define the country's future.
03:53What happens here have a consequence for the whole global ecosystems.
03:59So if all of Greenland's ice sheet melted tomorrow, it will not, but if it did, the water levels around the world will rise around 7.2 meters.
04:08The world don't know about national boundaries. That's something humans have made up.
04:14I think it's a matter of adapting to the new circumstances and making sure that we slow down the pace of climate change.
04:22Greenlanders have always known the beauty and power of their land.
04:27Now they hope that the whole world, including Donald Trump, will respect them and their home country.
04:38They are a woman and a man who's going to give up.
04:39Antiprof in the sky.
04:41They are the huge pain in packs of water.
04:43So they will not make up with the water and the water.
04:45Let's keep them in.
04:47There are definitely not.
04:49All forests and minerals in the sand.
04:50These are all the most important things.
04:53The water and water and water.
04:55They are all the other birds that are very different.
04:58What happens here is that they are on.
05:00No, they're just one of the water and water.
05:03The water and water are not ready.
05:04Those are the little water and water.
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