A Carbon-Free ‘Green City’ in the Desert?

Travel Blog  •  Joanna Kakissis  •  05.06.08 | 10:42 AM ET

imageIf the excesses of Dubai aren’t your thing, you might soon consider a very different kind of travel destination in the United Arab Emirates. Oil-rich Abu Dhabi is planning to build an “eco city” for 50,000 people that will be powered entirely by renewable energy, NPR reports.

Could the sheiks have something here? They think so: Abu Dhabi has put up $4 billion for Masdar City and there are plans to raise another $18 billion to bring the project to fruition.

Masdar also has Western backers, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which has signed on to help establish the Masdar Institute devoted to renewable energy.

The UAE says it wants to test renewable energy sources because, of course, the oil will eventually run out. If this project pans out, they’ll be poised to sell clean energy to the rest of the world. I hope the eco-laggards here at home are paying attention.

Photo by the friendly fiend via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Tags: Eco Travel, Middle East, United Arab Emirates, Dubai, News and Briefs

Joanna Kakissis's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, among other publications. A contributor to the World Hum blog, she's currently a Ted Scripps fellow in environmental journalism at the University of Colorado in Boulder.


1 Comment for A Carbon-Free ‘Green City’ in the Desert?

Dr. Shamir A. Ally 09.11.08 | 1:51 PM ET

A very commendable effort.

We will ALL learn when this GREEN CITY is in full operation, HOPEFULLY, there will be more such cities.

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