Analysis of the transformation of Greenland from the perspectives of geopolitics, climate change and natural resources

Kutxa Fundazioa and DIPC have organised the roundtable discussion "Groenlandia hizpide: klima-aldaketa, baliabideak eta geopolitika Artikoan" (Greenland: climate change, resources and geopolitics in the Arctic) to reflect on the transformation of Greenland and its increasing importance in the Arctic, focusing on geopolitics, climate change and natural resources.

Greenland is in the middle of a major transformation. The effects of climate change, the growing interest in its natural resources and the new geopolitical context are transforming the reality of the territory and, at the same time, increasing its strategic importance. As a result, Greenland has become a key territory for understanding the dynamics that are transforming the Arctic and their international consequences.

This roundtable discussion proposes to look at Greenland through three complementary perspectives: geopolitics, climate change and resources. Three speakers, Mikel Reparaz, Elisa Sainz de Murieta and Jorge Gorosarri, will analyse, from their respective perspectives and areas of specialisation, the main processes that are transforming Greenland, as well as the challenges, opportunities and tensions that these transformations will bring to the future and to the Arctic in general.

About the speakers

Mikel Reparaz, journalist specialising in international news. Currently Head of International News at the Basque Public Radio and Television (EITB) group, he has covered wars and news of global importance across the five continents. He was correspondent for Basque public radio and television in Brussels and New York.

Elisa Sainz de Murieta, lecturer in the Department of Applied Economics at the EHU and associate researcher at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3). Her research focuses on analysing climate change risk and assessing adaptation policies, particularly in relation to the economic assessment of climate change impacts ─ from rising sea levels in coastal areas to the impact of extreme heat on health.

Jorge Gorosarri, geologist, lecturer and science communicator at Tierra. A graduate in Geology from the EHU, in the early years of his career he worked in the fields of applied geology, geomorphology and hydrogeology. For over two decades he has studied and explored karst and the underwater world of the Basque Country, especially in Álava. He is currently Chair of the Zarama Speleological Group and a member of the Union of Basque Speleologists (UEV). He has worked as an expedition guide and naturalist, especially in Greenland, where he has witnessed the recent transformations experienced by the Arctic territories.