Greenland cleanup of former US bases pushed back to 2033

The removal of waste and infrastructure from former American military installations on Greenland’s east coast, originally slated for completion in 2023, has been rescheduled to 2033. A Danish‑Greenlandic steering committee overseeing the project says work on the 17 decommissioned bases is complex due to remote locations and harsh climate. In 2018 Denmark allocated DKK 180 million for the cleanup, of which DKK 48 million had been spent by early 2026, leaving roughly DKK 159 million remaining. Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen urged the United States to apply the polluter‑pays principle in any new base agreement. Negotiations are under way for a new treaty that could include three additional US bases in Greenland, following statements by former US President Donald Trump expressing interest in the Arctic region.