The ice melts. Fishing becomes harder, but some Greenlanders look forward to mining and oil exploration.

Reporter: Effects of global warming on Greenland

In Greenland, global warming   takes place before our eyes.

The loss of ice has more than doubled   in less than ten years.

But this island in the Arctic is   discovering the positive side of this.

It can exploit   its many natural resources.

The consequences of climate change   aren’t felt only elsewhere.

are concerned about the effects of   global warming on their natural habitat.

Their future is   increasingly precarious.

Fishing in this area has become   increasingly dangerous.

We can't move around with sleighs   because the ice has become too thin.

We see fewer and fewer fish   and whales around here.

In a few decades the consequences will   be disastrous for the entire planet.

Most of the effects   of climate change in Greenland

will come from the changes   in the ocean.

Rising sea levels are a serious problem   in most of the world

because all the large   population concentrations

It affects large parts   of the Earth's population.

That can probably already be   observed in low-lying countries

like Bangladesh   and various islands on the Pacific.

Global warming is very important   for Greenland’s mineral business.

It means much easier access   to parts of Greenland

where we don't have any access today   because of the ice on the seafloor.

That will open up a lot   of very interesting areas of Greenland.

Greenland will be dependent   on the mineral business,

but also on industries like refining   aluminium, oil exploration and tourism.

I’m of course very happy with that, but the   real challenge is to go the industrial way.

Thanks to the melting of the ice   and the new economic possibilities,

politicians in Greenland prefer to   focus on the benefits of global warming.

In fact, the autonomous   Danish province has started

diplomatic talks with Copenhagen   to discuss full autonomy.

We get 3.2 billion Danish kroner   per year in block grants,

we'll always have this   legal connection with Denmark.

Due to climate change,   in many parts of Greenland

ports are now open all year round   and the sea doesn't freeze any more.

So the opportunities   for commercial shipping are greater.

Geological survey possibilities have never   been as good as they are now.

And that has resulted in the rediscovery   our country and its wealth.

In the meantime, the glaciers   melt at an increasing rate

and there's increasing enthusiasm   for a boom that should begin soon.

But at what price, the scientists   and environmentalists wonder.

Maybe climate change is part   of the evolution of our planet

Everything is happening at once,   and much too fast.