'The Greenland Ice Sheet Is an Awakening Giant'

Leading glacier expert Andreas Peter Ahlstrom talks to SPIEGEL ONLINE about Greenland’s melting ice sheets, global sea-level rise and why limiting global warming is non-negotiable.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, where we are standing right now, has retreated by 15 kilometers (nine miles) in recent years. The ice that breaks off contributes to sea-level rise. How worried should the world be about a collapse of the Greenland ice sheet?

Andreas Peter Ahlstr

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In its last report, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change seems to have underestimated the importance of what is happening with Greenland’s icecap. What is the current situation?

Ahlstr