Greenland daylight saving time could be abolished from 2028, after the Greenlandic government (Naalakkersuisut) backed a parliamentary proposal to stop changing the clocks twice a year while keeping the current standard time zone.
The proposal, now expected to move to a third reading in Greenland’s parliament (Inatsisartut) on May 15, would reshape the island’s time relationship with Denmark and the rest of Europe. If approved, Greenland would remain on standard time throughout the year. The time difference with Denmark would stay at three hours in winter, but rise to four hours during the summer months, when Denmark and most of the European Union continue to observe daylight saving time.
Why Greenland wants to drop daylight saving time
The debate reflects a wider concern in Greenland about whether clock rules designed around European coordination fit everyday life in an Arctic society. Government leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Naalakkersuisut would respect the request made by a majority in the parliamentary legal affairs committee and intended to follow it by abolishing summer time.
Supporters of the change argue that the current system affects sleep, family routines and working life, especially in areas where daylight patterns are already shaped by long Arctic winters and summers. In 2024, around 2,700 people signed a petition calling for Greenland to return to its pre-2023 time zone and abolish daylight saving time.
Former Naleraq politician Qupanuk Olsen, who was elected to Inatsisartut in 2025 with the time zone issue as one of her main causes, has argued that the current arrangement has concrete consequences for families and workers. In her view, children struggle to fall asleep in the evening and wake up in the morning, while people working in fishing and hunting lose useful daylight during the short winter day.
A four-hour summer gap with Denmark and Europe
The most immediate effect would be a more complex calendar for Greenland’s links with Denmark and Europe. Today, most of Greenland is on UTC−2 during standard time and UTC−1 during daylight saving time. Denmark is on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer.
If Greenland stops observing daylight saving time while Denmark and the EU keep the current seasonal clock change, the winter time difference would remain three hours. In summer, however, it would become four hours. That would affect scheduling for public administration, aviation, companies, media and families with regular contact across the Atlantic.
The issue is not only symbolic. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but it has extensive self-government and its own political debate over how closely its institutions should align with European systems. Time policy has therefore become a practical question with broader political meaning: how to balance local rhythms, economic coordination and Greenland’s position between North America and Europe.
The 2023 time zone change is still contested
The new proposal comes after a major time reform in 2023, when Greenland moved from UTC−3 to UTC−2. That change reduced the time gap with Denmark and the EU to three hours for much of the year, while also placing Greenland three hours away from the east coast of North America.
A separate proposal now being discussed would reverse that reform and return Greenland to the time zones it used before 2023. Naalakkersuisut does not support that step. The government’s position is therefore more limited: it backs ending daylight saving time in Greenland, but not returning to the old time zone structure.
This distinction matters for businesses. Greenland’s business association (Grønlands Erhverv) has argued that the current three-hour difference with Denmark and Europe has created opportunities for companies that trade, communicate or coordinate with European partners. Its director, Christian Keldsen, has said many companies support keeping the current time difference because it helps business operations, including aviation links.
Businesses fear a seasonal scheduling problem
The business sector is more open to ending the clock change itself than to reversing the 2023 time zone reform. However, it also warns that Greenland could create a new problem if it abolishes daylight saving time independently while Denmark and the EU continue changing clocks.
That would mean one time gap in spring and summer, and another in autumn and winter. For companies, transport operators and public authorities, the result could be more administrative friction rather than less. Meetings, flight schedules, digital systems and deadlines would all need to account for a seasonal gap between Greenland and European partners.
The concern echoes the stalled European debate over daylight saving time. The European Commission proposed ending the twice-yearly clock changes in 2018, but EU member states have not reached a final agreement on whether to move permanently to standard time or summer time. Until that decision is made, the current system remains in place across the EU.
Greenland’s clock debate is about more than time
The possible abolition of Greenland daylight saving time shows how a technical rule can become a political and social question. For supporters, ending the clock change would make daily life better aligned with Greenland’s geography and light conditions. For businesses, the key issue is preserving predictable links with Denmark and Europe.
If Inatsisartut approves the proposal at its third reading, Greenland would take a distinct path from Denmark and the EU from 2028. The change would not settle the wider argument over the 2023 time zone reform, but it would mark a clear attempt to adapt time policy to Greenlandic conditions rather than simply following European practice.
