Can Gulf petrostates really build green cities?

In 2006, the Masdar City project was launched in the United Arab Emirates. Supported by $22 billion in state-funding, it aimed to be the world’s most sustainable city. Situated 6km away from Zayed International Airport, neighbouring a Formula 1 racetrack and golf course, Abu Dhabi’s eco-utopia is full of contradictions. Bertie discusses why oil-rich Gulf states like UAE and Saudi Arabia are investing in sustainability with Gökçe Günel, Associate Professor in Anthropology at Rice University. Gökçe is the author of Spaceship in the Desert: Energy, Climate Change, and Urban Design in Abu Dhabi , published in 2019 by Duke University Press. Further reading: Inside COP28: A Participant’s Take on Climate Diplomacy Efforts in Dubai , Gökçe Günel, Baker Institute, 2024 Horizons, Gökçe Günel, e-flux Architecture, 2022 Spaceship in the Desert: Energy, Climate Change, and Urban Design in Abu Dhabi, Gökçe Günel, Duke University Press, 2019 Send us Fan Mail Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.

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Can Gulf petrostates really build green cities? is an episode from The Economy, Land & Climate Podcast by Land and Climate Review .

This episode is 31:01 long.

This episode was published on Oct 24, 2025.

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