UAE to import ice from Greenland glaciers

A start-up company from Greenland is to begin shipping “untouched and unblemished” Arctic ice to hotels, restaurants and bars in the UAE. According to a report in the Guardian yesterday, Arctic Ice harvests “pristine” glacial ice from local fjords, to be used in drinks. This is said to be a common practice on the world’s largest island.

The company’s co-founder, Malik V Rasmussen, said that the ice is completely without bubbles and melts more slowly than regular ice. The report added that it is also purer than the frozen mineral water usually used in ice cubes served in Dubai bars.

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“Arctic Ice is sourced directly from the natural glaciers in the Arctic which have been in a frozen state for more than 100,000 years,” said the company on its website. “These parts of the ice sheets have not been in contact with any soils or contaminated by pollutants produced by human activities. This makes Arctic Ice the cleanest H20 on Earth.”

This encapsulates perfectly the insanity of the world we are living in.https://t.co/zKdqEkFp9j

— Bill McGuire (@ProfBillMcGuire) January 9, 2024

However, the move has been criticised, with concerns about sustainability and climate change. “Shouldn’t you be worrying about the effects of global warming rather than selling glacier water?” it has been asked on social media. “What is this dystopia?” Some have even questioned if it is a “sick joke”.

However, the company insists that it is committed to becoming fully carbon-neutral and operates through a low-carbon intensity supply chain.

“Helping Greenland in its green transition is actually what I believe I was brought into this world to do,” said Rasmussen. “We do have that agenda running through the company, but we may not have communicated it well enough yet.”

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