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By Jamey Keaten

The Associated Press

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates 鈥� A bold, innovative project begun nearly a generation ago to erect a 鈥済reen city鈥� in the United Arab Emirates has run into realities and largely missed its mark, offering a cautionary tale about the risk of overblown environmental ambitions even for an oil-rich, future-minded sheikdom.

Now 17 years and billions of dollars in the making, Masdar City, next to Abu Dhabi鈥檚 airport, was first envisioned as a sustainable city of tomorrow with features like no cars, subway 鈥減ods鈥� to ferry commuters, and solar-powered buildings rising from the desert sands.

Those things exist, but not nearly to the extent or in the time frame once imagined.

Masdar City has been a pet project of Sultan al-Jaber, the head of the UAE鈥檚 national oil company and the president of the ongoing COP28 climate conference in nearby Dubai, who has sought to cast himself as a promoter of renewable energy transition.

It was launched as a $22 billion, state-funded project to create 鈥渢he world鈥檚 most sustainable eco-city,鈥� with designs from the firm of famed British architect Norman Foster. It was expected to cover 2.3 square miles and accommodate 50,000 people.

Setbacks doused early hopes. It was originally set to be completed in 2016 and then 2020. Now the target date has been shelved indefinitely.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no line in the sand that we鈥檙e rushing to,鈥� said Chris Wan, associate director of sustainability for Masdar City. 鈥淚t will develop naturally.鈥�

At first, a global financial crisis slowed building projects.

Then, technological advancements arrived quickly: Electric scooters and bikes and autonomous vehicles turned out to be more versatile than track-bound subway pods. Other changes aren鈥檛 coming quickly enough: Buildings still require concrete 鈥� and manufacturing it generates a lot of carbon.

The result, critics say, has been a 鈥渇ailed city鈥� that鈥檚 now more of a research hub and office park 鈥� some 1,000 businesses have taken up tenancy 鈥� that has overshadowed hopes for a broader mix with more retail space, residential areas and cultural offerings that a truly livable city would offer.

Federico Cugurullo, assistant professor of sustainable urbanism at Trinity College Dublin, has argued the project has been harmed by tensions between environmental and economic concerns that have dented its ambitions at sustainability.

鈥淚t is not a good model for future cities,鈥� he stated in an email.

Today, an estimated 15,000 people live and work in Masdar City 鈥� but only one-third are residents. The surface area is roughly 1.5 square miles, though only about one-fourth has been built-up so far.

Masdar City鈥檚 visionary managers remain unbowed, insisting it鈥檚 a work in progress.

Wan, who joined as ground was being broken on Masdar City in 2008, said its earliest buildings achieved 40 percent energy savings.

鈥淭hat was the best we could do with our available knowledge,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd making it commercially viable. Fast-forward 15 years and today, using the same methodology, further refined, we are delivering net-zero energy buildings in operation in a commercially viable manner.鈥�

Wan and other city managers say Masdar City remains a showcase for environmental, social and especially economic sustainability and a test bed for research.

Clean energy policies in the UAE grew in the mid-2000s, when the World Wildlife Fund estimated the country had the world鈥檚 largest ecological footprint per capita 鈥� meaning that each of its residents used more resources on average than those in any other nation. The UAE still ranks high on similar lists.

Steve Severance, director of growth at Masdar City, acknowledged Abu Dhabi built its economic development on hydrocarbons, like oil.

鈥淲e also looked into the future and said, 鈥榃hat does the future of energy look like?鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not hydrocarbons. The future is renewable energy and sustainability, and we want to be a player in that future.鈥�

Cranes towering overhead give the idea that development of Masdar City is ramping up. French glass and construction materials company Saint-Gobain this year opened a sustainable living 鈥渃omfort house鈥� early this year. Abu Dhabi鈥檚 energy department indicated it will locate the country鈥檚 first 鈥渘et-zero-energy commercial headquarters鈥� in the district by late 2025.

Evidence of engineered efficiency in the city鈥檚 tree-lined streets abound. A lattice-like tower designed to extract humidity out of the air, achieves admittedly mixed results. A blue tent touts hydrogen extracted from water for possible future use in hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Streets are narrow and oriented to channel the typically northwestern breeze. Siemens, the German energy technology company, has been working on smart-grid technology. Condensation from air-conditioning units 鈥� a staple in the sunbaked region 鈥� is recaptured as water for irrigation, Wan said.

Visitors still get treated to eye-popping glitz: kids from a nearby school recently sat politely by a brightly lit promotional screen wall as the pods 鈥� a bit reminiscent of ski-lift gondolas 鈥� whiz up to berths to pick up passengers.

Trinity College鈥檚 Cugurullo criticized the project for focusing too much on luring in clean energy companies, rather than more mundane issues like housing for regular people.

Wan acknowledged the criticism, but said the city still wins in the end 鈥� for three reasons.

鈥淭he only failure that we really recognize and the world should recognize is the failure to start; we all have to start,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he second part to this is also very simple. If we are a failed city, then would we say that if Masdar City never existed, the world would be a better place? We believe not.鈥�

He insisted lessons have been learned for future cities, and everyone will gain.

鈥淎 lot of people are now coming to us and say: 鈥楢s a city, we鈥檙e going to do better,鈥欌�� Wan said. 鈥淲e say 鈥榝antastic.鈥� Everyone should aim to do better than us because when that happens, that鈥檚 it. We will celebrate.鈥�

Editor鈥檚 note: Lujain Jo and Kamran Jebreili in Abu Dhabi, and Sibi Arasu and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.