Dubai was just a small fishing village and trading port before the oil and wild real estate boom transformed it into a city with the world’s tallest building, dense skyscrapers, and the world’s third busiest airport. In 2006 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) declared the UAE had the largest ecological footprint, per capita, with its high carbon emissions, and claimed Dubai was the highest consumer of the emirates. Since then, the population has doubled, to more than 2.8 million, and the number of cars has more than doubled, and the population swells with between 8-10 million visitors per year. Outside temperatures can reach 50 (122°F) in summer, and the humidity is very high even though it rarely rains, as Dubai gets less than four inches a year. There are no permanent rivers, and next to no soil suitable for growing crops.

Combining Dubai’s population growth and dramatic climate creates the urgency to develop a more sustainable city of the future to improve the quality of life, and to protect the environment.

As Dubai prepares to host the most sustainable World Expo in 2020, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, said "We are working according to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, which is explained in the Dubai Plan 2021. This will result in Dubai having the lowest carbon footprint in the world, and advance the emirate’s position as a smart, competitive, integrated and interconnected city, with a high-tech infrastructure to boost our social and economic development, and be counted among the world’s best," he added, before concluding, "We are committed to driving sustainability, which is a major pillar for Expo 2020 Dubai. DEWA has dedicated a large part of its budget for its clean energy projects to align to the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to generate 7 percent of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2020, 25 percent by 2030, and 75 percent by 2050."

Some developers believe building sustainably means more cost, and smaller profit margins. But architect Baharash Bagherian said “in my experience, being sustainable doesn’t necessarily mean more expensive to build. In fact, at the early stages of any sustainable project, basic design decisions such as orientation, density and form provide the biggest environmental gains, yet these require the least financial investments.”

Ways to minimise water use, by increasing efficiency and re‐use:

• Recycle water
• Collect and re‐use rainwater to reduce demand for potable fresh water
• Implement highly efficient and smart irrigation systems and storm water design
• Install smart water efficient fittings, water metres and appliances
• Maintain and improve the quality of ground and surface water
• Design with low-water use landscaping
• Reduce water consumption by 50% by increasing environmental awareness

One of the major projects being built to implement these goals is Dubai’s Sustainable City, the first net zero energy project created by Diamond Developers, with 500 residential townhouses and courtyard villas. It also has natural ‘biodome’ greenhouses, an organic farm plus garden farms for local food production. Waste water is recycled, with segregated drainage for greywater and blackwater. It has its own solar farm solar panels across all the parking stations and the residential areas rooftops and there is a 10-megawatt peak solar installation and solar panels across all the parking stations and the residential areas rooftops. The City also has an excellence centre which will educate and raise awareness amongst residents, and there is also a green curriculum for students in the school. Emphasis is also placed on healthy lifestyles with the shaded cycling and jogging tracks across the buffer zone, the outdoor gym stations, and the equestrian centre.

See also:

Report calls myths about Dubai’s over supply of housing exaggerated and unfounded

World's greenest Eco Resort launched in UAE

How to buy a property in Dubai