What’s Behind Trump’s Greenland & Panama Mania

There is definitely a method to President Donald Trump’s seemingly mad obsession with taking control of both the Danish-owned country of Greenland and the Panama Canal. Both are significantly affected by climate change in ways that present looming challenges to global shipping and trade. 

Due to continued warming temperatures, an estimated 11,000 square miles of Greenland’s ice sheets and glaciers have melted over the past three decades, an area roughly equivalent to the size of Massachusetts. That fact in itself has huge implications for the entire world. If the ice melts completely, Greenland could cause sea levels to rise as much as 23 feet, according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). 

Greenland’s retreating ice could open up areas to drill for oil and gas and places to mine critical minerals, a fact that has already attracted international interest and raised concerns about environmental harms. 

Also, ship traffic in the Arctic has surged 37 percent over the past decade, according to a recent Arctic Council report, as sea ice has declined. More melting could open up even more trade routes.

“The traffic lanes in the Arctic are changing because of climate change,” stated Jose W. Fernandez, the State Department Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment. “It’s something that we are devoting more and more attention to, and any new Administration is going to have to address going forward.”

China has shown significant interest in a new route through the Arctic. In November 2024, China and Russia agreed to work together to develop Arctic shipping routes.       

Climate change is also walloping the Panama Canal from several angles.Its lock system is facing increased threats from rising sea levels which could cause floods and erode the Canal banks. 

In 2023, a lengthy drought caused widespread disruption at the Canal. Water levels at Gatun Lake, the principal hydrological reserve for the Canal, sank to historically low levels and the authorities reduced shipping through the Canal to conserve the lake’s fresh water. The resulting lines of ships waiting for weeks to cross the Canal threatened to trigger a domino effect across supply chains. Scientists found that climate change may be prolonging dry spells and raising temperatures in the region. 

Speculation is that Trump’s interest in both the Panama Canal and Greenland might be something of an indirect acknowledgement, on his part, that climate change is real and creating new global challenges, whereas he has belittled the concept as being a hoax in the past.  

“It’s interesting that the narrative from Trump is that if we control these places, it would be better somehow,” said Chris Field, Directorof the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. “But the challenge is the climate change component doesn’t go away.”