Dubai is one of the fastest growing metropolises in the Middle East and indeed the entire world. However, the magnanimous urban growth proportions witnessed in the recent past have presented the United Arabs Emirates capital with much less alluring environmental challenges. As Jean-Francois Seznec, a professor at Georgetown University would put it, “Growth has been so intense and enormous, but people forgot about the environment†(Alderman, 2010, p.1).
Being located in an arid area, Dubai is, as a result, confronted with water shortages. The gulf, which is the major source of water, provides saline water which may not be useful for domestic purposes. As a necessity, the water is treated through desalination systems, treatment plants which emit volumes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Such volumes of carbon pose far reaching environmental and health hazards; extending to threatening marine life. Emission of greenhouse gases from industrial process is among the major challenges that bedevil it. In spite of the fact that it sits on lucrative oil reservoirs, Dubai experiences a rapid speed of energy depletion to maintain its lavish lifestyle. To make matters worse, the Middle East commercial capital has established industries which demand massive amounts of electrical energy (Alderman, 2010).
Dubai and UAE accounted for about 170376.4 ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere 2011 (Navarro, 2012).
