The United States, Denmark and Greenland have signed an agreement allowing two new American defense areas in Greenland, with a clause recognizing the need to protect Greenland’s environment.
The agreement was signed on September 22, 2026, and DR reports that it commits the parties to acknowledge the need to protect Greenland’s unique environment. Among Greenlandic members of the Danish parliament, the wording has raised hopes that the new bases will not be left as waste sites.
According to the text published by the White House, the deal allows new defense areas at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig and expanded activity at Pituffik Space Base. It was signed in New York in English, Danish and Greenlandic.
The White House text also states that proposals for additional defense areas must include mitigating measures. Such proposals must take account of earlier environmental and legal arrangements.
Qarsoq Høegh-Dam, a member of the Folketing for Naleraq, told DR that the agreement is a good foundation because the parties have committed to environmental considerations. He added that he is not skeptical about the text itself, but about whether it will be followed in practice.
Waste from 17 closed bases remains
DR reports that oil drums, chemicals and other military scrap from the US military still lie in the Greenlandic landscape. The waste comes from 17 former American bases that have since been closed, and the cleanup bill has ended up with Denmark.
Some sites are listed as fully cleaned up in the official accounting. At others, structures have been kept for cultural and historical reasons, while unexploded ammunition may still remain at one base.
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Per Høegh-Dam, there is not a single base where cleanup has restored the area to its condition before the Americans built there. He said the essence of the new deal is that it must actually be complied with, and that the Americans must be monitored.
Naaja H. Nathanielsen, a member of the Folketing for Inuit Ataqatigiit, is more optimistic, although she describes the state of the old bases as a mess. She told DR that the agreement is groundbreaking because the environment is named in the text.
Nathanielsen also pointed to the passage where the parties recognize national legal frameworks. As stated by her, respecting applicable legislation and writing in Greenlandic considerations adds a layer of security that did not exist before.
Reuters reports that the deal opens the two new military sites at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, and that President Donald Trump said the US will build two major military bases. The agency notes that the agreement does not specify troop numbers or timelines.
Reuters coverage focused on the military and diplomatic content of the deal rather than the environmental safeguards highlighted by DR. Questions about the status of Greenland within the Kingdom of Denmark have framed the negotiations.
Asked by DR whether it would have been better to state plainly that the Americans must clean up after themselves, Høegh-Dam said there are always things one would prefer. He described the mention of the environment as an expansion of earlier terms.
