The UAE and sustainability are probably not the two words you are used to seeing in one sentence. At least it wasn’t what I was expecting moving here.

As a German, born and raised in the region of Baden-Württemberg, I was instilled with a strong culture of recycling and waste separation. In Germany, the commitment to sustainability is synonymous with meticulous waste separation – “Mülltrennung” – for my fellow Germans.

So moving to Dubai it was clear from the get go, that In this aspect, the UAE has, let´s say, room for improvement. There is an excess use of plastic packaging for various products and the closest to waste separation I came across is that there are two parachutes in our building: one for plastic and one for everything else….definitely a start.

Why go electric when petrol prices are mere heaven?

I was asking myself, considering that my last car back in Germany was a Tesla. But did you know, that in 2022 the UAE was the third-largest market for Teslas in the world? A country of 9.5 Mio people with petrol prices that make you jump with delight (coming from Germany) and yet there is a hugh rise of electrical vehicles. The growing popularity of electric vehicles in the UAE is also evident in the recent addition of 269 Teslas to the Dubai taxi fleet which is part of a plan to convert all of the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) vehicles to hybrid, electric, or hydrogen powered models by 2027.

All well and good, but it’s important to note that the UAE is still a major oil producer. Oil and gas account for about 25% of the UAE’s GDP. So while the country is investing in electric vehicles, it’s still pumping a lot of oil into the atmosphere.

“The preservation of our planet is not only a moral duty, but also an economic necessity.” Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

But the UAE is a pioneer in sustainability in the Middle East. It was the first country in the region to sign and ratify the Paris Agreement and to announce a Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative. This puts the UAE in a prime position to achieve Sheikh Mohamed’s vision for an innovative and collaborative approach to sustainable development.

One of the major ideas for sustainable living is to adopt renewable energy. In the UAE, solar energy is a vast, untapped resource. The government has already undertaken initiatives to harness solar power, like the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (MBR Solar Park).

The MBR Solar Park has a total installed capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW), which is enough to power over 1 million homes. It currently produces around 2,327 MW of clean energy, which accounts for 15.7% of Dubai’s energy capacity.

The MBR Solar Park is still under construction, and when it is completed in 2030, it will produce enough energy to power 5 million homes. This will make it the world’s largest solar power plant.

The MBR Solar Park is a major contributor to Dubai’s clean energy goals. The city aims to have 75% of its energy coming from clean sources by 2050.

So, is the UAE’s commitment to sustainability genuine?

Or is it just a PR stunt to greenwash the country’s image as some might say? I’m not sure. But I’m one of those people who believes that it’s always better to try than to do nothing at all.

So, I’m going to give the UAE the benefit of the doubt. I’m going to cheer them on as they make their way towards a more sustainable future.

Are you joining me?