Inspired by palm trees, Masdar City architects will expand Queen Alia Airport, to become a “green” airport in Jordan. A couple of months ago, fellow Green Prophet writer Tafline Layline wrote a blog about the dubious green credentials of Fosters + Partners projects across the Middle East. The architect firm behind ambitious green projects such […]
Professor Daniel Esty lectured United Arab Emirates officials (and others) about environmental sustainability at Yale University last week. Members attending Professor Daniel Esty’s lecture: “Green to Gold: Environmental Sustainability in a Changing World” at Yale University last week included a who’s who of United Arab Emirates officials. The event was attended by H.H. General Sheikh […]
Masdar’s CEO acknowledges oil and gas are finite, yet the energy provider continues to exploit UAE’s natural resources to fund renewable projects with the same quest for fame and fortune that kept us glued to oil [image via GDS Digital] Given its celebrity status and our skepticism of its real sustainibility, we at Green Prophet […]
Are oil and gas companies seeking carbon credits simply opportunists looking to make a profit? [image via oedipusphinx] It makes some sense that Masdar City, a carbon neutral city being built in Abu Dhabi, should receive carbon credits. But rewarding large oil companies such as Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC even though they continue to emit carbon […]
Abu Dhabi’s oil wealth funds energy infrastructure transformation with General Electric at the helm. In 2005, a light bulb went off for GE, which pledged to spend $1.5 billion on alternative technology by 2010. Their Ecomagination department eclipsed that goal in 2009 and has recently committed a further $10billion to the cause. Masdar City in […]
Aerofarms’ stackable vertical farm uses mist to grow crops in areas where land is non-arable, like in the United Arab Emirates. Vertical farming, where crops are raised in skyscrapers or on stacked layers may be the best way to feed water poor countries with non-arable land – like many of those in the Middle East. […]
Built on the profits of oil, should Masdar hold the mantle of energy leadership for the world? Yosef asks. According to the Masdar City website, the undertaking is intended to be Abu Dhabi’s “multi-faceted response to the challenges facing a sustainable future.” The city, intended to house 50,000 residents in a kind of technosphere designed […]
Is Masdar City a beacon for Middle Eastern development? It may take another 10 years to find out. We have been skeptical of Masdar City and Foster+Partners, the architects responsible for the emergent eco-city’s design, but BBC reporter Tom Reap’s recent article paints a compelling portrait of this dubious venture. Although projected building costs are […]
Foster+Partners, architect firm, claim projects like Masdar City are sustainable. Are they? Meet Foster + Partners: one thousand employees work in their twenty-two offices scattered around the world. Their employees hail from 50 nations, which diversity they say leads to “creativity, innovation, and motivation.” They are the people behind projects such as Masdar City that […]
Are the United Arab Emirate states being over-the-top extravagant when purchasing super luxury cars? Word has it that an Abu Dhabi billionaire is the proud owner of a Mercedes V10 Quad Turbo sports job that has a body made of white gold!
A new fund based in Abu Dhabi to accelerate clean tech has just closed its first round of financing. Masdar City is expected to get a big boost. Abu Dhabi’s “Masdar Clean Tech Fund” just completed its first closure, and was successful in raising an impressive $265 million. The fund is co-managed by Masdar Venture Capital […]
Qatar’s new LEED-certified convention center could be as “green” as Masdar City. It will boast a world first of LED lighting in exhibition halls. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are not the only Persian Gulf locations building environmentally sustainable projects. Now, Qatar is building a unique convention center, which although still unfinished has already achieved the […]
The sunny MENA (Middle East- North Africa) region and its associated countries could solar power the world, Maurice reports. This map-maker left out Israel. Middle Eastern and North African countries, often referred to under the umbrella term MENA countries, have the potential to create more than 3 times the world’s power needs, according to a […]
Masdar City: A model city for sustainable cities of the world? Masdar City, that 100% carbon neutral eco-city being built in Abu Dhabi, is receiving well deserved attention not only from local environmentalists, but from many individuals and organizations located far from the unique ecological project. The city currently under construction by an international consortium of […]
More water than sand? It could happen one day in Saudi Arabia. This is something that would make Lawrence of Arabia turn in his grave: Recent studies are now showing that sand, once Saudi Arabia’s most common commodity (outside of oil) is now becoming almost as scarce as water. For those of you who are […]