On COP28 sidelines, Emirati 'green city' falls short of ambitions, still has lessons

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A bold, innovative project begun nearly a generation ago to erect a “green-city” in the United Arab Emirates has run into realities and largely missed its mark

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — A bold, innovative project begun nearly a generation ago to erect a “green-city” in the United Arab Emirates has run into realities and largely missed its mark, offering a cautionary tale about the risk of overblown environmental ambitions even for an oil-rich, future-minded sheikdom.

Now 17 years and billions of dollars in the making, Masdar City next to Abu Dhabi’s airport was first envisioned as a sustainable city of tomorrow with features like no cars, subway “pods” to ferry commuters, and solar-powered buildings rising from the desert sands.

Those things exist, but not nearly to the extent or in the timeframe once imagined.

Masdar City has been a pet project of Sultan al-Jaber, the head of the UAE's national oil company and the president of the ongoing COP28 climate conference in nearby Dubai, who has sought to cast himself as a promoter of renewable energy transition.

It was launched as a $22-billion, state-funded project to create “the world’s most sustainable eco-city,” with designs from the firm of famed British architect Norman Foster. It was expected to cover six square kilometers (2.3 square miles) and accommodate 50,000 people.

Setbacks doused early hopes. It was originally set to be completed in 2016, then 2020, and now a target date has been shelved indefinitely.

“There’s no line in the sand that we’re rushing to,” said Chris Wan, associate director for sustainability. “It will develop naturally.”

At first, a global financial crisis slowed building projects.

Then, some technological change arrived fast: Electric