Sustainable Growth in Dubai

I've been scratching my head recently as i have tried to think of what my next post could be about. Surprisingly, the economy has not been very prominent in the news recently and so i turned my attention to our annual family holiday. This year we will be visiting Dubai which is one of the emirates which makes up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We have been to Dubai before and struck me was the scale of the economic growth in such a short period of time.

Dubai's growth over a 15 year period

Dubai is now a place of the luxurious and ridiculous, they have not only built an indoor ski slope in a city where outside summer temperatures regularly hit 45 degrees centigrade but they also built the world's tallest  building, The Burj Khalifa, just because they could. I have not even mentioned the number of lavish hotels which have sprung up from the sands of the desert. The shocking thing is that this sort of development has occurred over a 20 year period and i question every time i go whether it is sustainable growth?

For growth to be sustainable it should not affect the living standards of future generations and most people think that growth is unsustainable when it involves the use of fossil fuels and/or it leads to a destruction of the environment.

Dubai has one of the highest carbon footprints per capita in the world and burns half as much gas as Germany per year. With a population of only 6 million compared to Germany's of 80 million, the growth of Dubai doesn't seem sustainable. Maybe, the consumption of fossil fuels is high at present  because of the level of current construction  in Dubai. After all, prior to the global financial crisis in 2008, 90% of all the cranes in the world were found in Dubai. However, i doubt this theory as the cost of petrol is so low out there, people are incentivised to buy and use more, thus increasing their carbon footprint. Dubai has promised to get 7% of its energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020 but with more people using the cheap, petrol guzzling taxis than the more environmentally friendly Dubai Metro, their aims seem ambitious.

The financial crisis of 2008 almost led to the demise of Dubai as foreign investment in the emirate fell, construction had to stop and demand for the lavish homes on man-made islands and hotel rooms vanished. It appeared to be a case of too much construction and too quickly which left a huge dependance on investment from abroad. This left their economy susceptible to external shocks which appears to be one of the drawbacks of globalisation. Now, although construction and inward investment in Dubai has subsequently picked up since then, the authorities are nervously looking over their shoulder at the rest of the world during these hard times.

The sharp rise in the development of Dubai has led to a sharp rise in the level of tourism in the area. The large numbers of western tourists who visit the emirate each year have led to tensions developing between them and the locals. In a conservative, muslim country where alcohol and pork are not permitted, some would argue that the development of Dubai has led to the loss of local cultures and traditions.

Dubai is a clear example of the dangers of fast, uncontrolled growth. It may seem that i have made it seem like an awful, dirty place in which there are constant battles between the tourists and locals. This is not the case, it is a wonderful city which is able to integrate modern luxuries with core traditions. It does however, remain a reminder to us all of the importance of sustainability. Wanting too much, too quickly can lead to negative long term side effects, something which Dubai is currently trying to reduce.