Dubai ranks first in the list of most sustainable cities in the Middle East, followed by Abu Dhabi and Doha, stated the Sustainable Cities Index
The index, developed by build asset consultancy Arcadis and conducted by the Center for Economics and Business Reseach (Cebr), explored three main demands of citizens ? people (social), planet (environment) and profit (economy).
Ivano Iannelli, chief executive of government organisation Dubai Carbon, said, ?The UAE strikes an unprecedented balance between quality of life, economic opportunities and the environment. I am not sure to which extent the recent rapid progress within sustainability and green economy has been taken into account by the researchers though, and can imagine this would have boosted Dubai?s ranking even higher.?
Dubai has set a renewable energy target of seven per cent by 2020 and 15 per cent by 2030. Abu Dhabi has developed its own green building code called Estidama, which grades the level of sustainability maintained in a building or structure. Middle Eastern cities are promoting the use of sustainability in their projects.
However, according to Hisham Malaika, Jeddah city executive at Arcadis said that city leaders need to find ways to balance the demands of generating strong financial returns, being an attractive place for people to live and work in, whilst also limiting damage to the environment.
