A startup is exporting ice from Greenland to supply cocktail bars in Dubai

This may seem ridiculous, but it is nonetheless true. If you travel to Dubai, you will undoubtedly have the opportunity to sip a cocktail… with ice cubes imported directly from Greenland. However, this is what a young Greenlandic company launched in 2022, Arctic Ice, is offering, which collects pieces of ice broken off from icebergs to send to luxury restaurants in the Emirates.

Marketing arguments are unstoppable. On its website, Arctic Ice touts the benefits of its ice cubes, “Of unparalleled purity.”, of glaciers that are more than 100,000 years old. Glaciologist Heidi Sevestre knows this, and she's rather attractive. “Yes, it's a bit strange, that's for sure. It's true that glacier ice has the property of being very poor in minerals, and thus waterbenders generally give medals to this ice because it's so pure.”

Stratospheric carbon footprint

But she believes sending her to Dubai, more than 7,000 kilometers away, is ridiculous. Especially since Greenland is one of the regions where temperatures are rising the fastest. “If the Arctic is warming so quickly, it is precisely because fossil fuels are being burned, sometimes to send goods to the far reaches of the world.”Adds Ice World. Although this startup talks about using boats instead of planes, there is no doubt that the carbon footprint is very large.

Company officials say they are working to reduce their carbon footprint. After exporting 20,000 tons of ice cream last year, they hope to impress more customers.