Masdar City

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of states overlooking the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. Vast oil and gas reserves (and corresponding spikes in world markets for these materials) have driven the economic growth of the UAE and made it one of the most developed nations in the Middle East, if not the world. The glittering city of Dubai, the business hub which literally sprang out of the dessert, is symbolic of their financial and technological successes. The country continues to enjoy “a massive construction boom, an expanding manufacturing base, and a thriving services sector”, all pointing to continued wealth and development in the future.

So, (almost literally) swimming in oil money, flush with technology and artfully managing a booming economy, most of us would be tempted to sit back, light a stogie and enjoy the fruits of our labour (and/or geological good fortune). To their credit, the UAE are doing no such thing. Instead they are investing billions of dollars in a project that the rest of the world has often talked of, but have not come anywhere near: building a totally sustainable, ‘green’ city.

Near the capital, Abu Dhabi, the UAE are planning a city that “will rely entirely on solar energy, with a sustainable, zero-carbon, zero-waste ecology”. The city, to be called Masdar City, will eventually house nearly 50,000 people, 1500 businesses and have “no point further than 200 m from a public transport link”. The project will also provide space for new universities which will specialise in grooming the next generation of eco-engineers (and the like). The promo video below gives a much more thorough description of the project and is reminiscent of the Cypress Creek video from You Only Move Twice.

Aside from the carbon capture technology (which is definitionally un-sustainable) that the project partly relies on, for its hydrogen power plant – the city is a phenomenal idea. Critics have already condemned it as a ‘symbol’ and ‘half-measure’ – but at a time when the rest of the world sits on their hands, it is a bold initiative. The initial investments have totaled some $22 billion and if that’s not putting your money where your mouth is, then I don’t know what is. It’s also inspiring to see a nation so reliant on oil for revenue, to acknowledge that those supplies will soon expire (like in 100 years, soon). They are currently trialing experimental technology (like concentrated solar plants) and ideas that could well be solutions to many of our environmental problems. Their foresight and pragmatism should make the rest of us ashamed of ourselves.