1. Regenerative Cities in the Gulf?
Herbert Girardet,
World Future Council

2. Presentation Outline
1. A sustainable history
2. Modern cities and fossil fuels
• Fossil fuels and urban growth
• Cities and the climate crisis
• The global footprints of cities
• The water crisis in the Gulf region
3. Sustainable or regenerative urbanisation?
• Towards “Ecopolis“
• The renewable energy revolution
• Food and cities
• Towards a circular metabolism
• Creating the regenerative city

6. Sanaa

20. Atlanta

21. The age of the city
• From 1900 to 2000 human numbers
increased four fold – from 1.5 to 6 billion
• The global urban population grew 13 fold to
2.9 billion, nearly 50 % of the world
population
• By 2030, 60% of the world population, or 4.9
billion people, are expected to live in urban
areas, 3 times more than the world’s entire
population in 1900
• Cities, on 3-4% of the world’s land surface
use 80% of its resources, and discharge
most solid, liquid and gaseous waste

23. Dubai

32. Dubai Today
Dubai was undergoing the rapid urbanisation : 1.8million

33. Dubai planned growth 5.6million in 10 years

34. CITY DIAGNOSTICS : NATIONAL ENERGY & WATER RESOURCES
Resource + Carbon Intensity of our Economies
SOURCE GENERATION TRANSMISSION DEMAND EFFICIENCY

36. Abu Dhabi

38. (cc) 2011, Anupam Saraph
38

39. Masdar

41. Masdar City : Energy System

42. Doha

43. Riyadh

44. C02 emissions
Qatar has the highest C02 emissions
- 49.1 metric tons per person/year.
Kuwait with 30.1 tons is second
highest, closely followed by United
Arab Emirates with 25.5 and Bahrain
with 21.3 tons, Oman with 17.3 and
Saudi Arabia with 16.6 tons.

45. 1
1
2
Dubai 2020 Dubai today
0
0
Industry
Dubai: CO2 Emissions
Industry
Road transport
Freight Transport
20
20
Road transport Sea Transport
Air Transport
Refrigerants
Waste
Freight Transport
Water
Sea Transport
40
40
Buildings
Air Transport
44,000,000tCO2/year
60 Refrigerants
60
Waste
Water
80
80
97,000,000tCO2/year
Buildings
100

51. Resource + Carbon Intensity of our Economies
Europe
US + UAE

52. WATER, the most precious resource

53. Al Hasa

64. Adelaide, S. Australia

83. Adelaide 2012
• Over 20% of renewable electricity, 40% by 2020
• 120,000 PV roofs (of 600,000 houses) = 250 mw
• 20,000 ha of peri-urban horticulture
• Recyled waste water used in crop irrigation
• Nearly 100% composting of organic waste
• Water sensitive development
• 60% carbon reduction by municipal buildings
• 1000s of new green jobs
• Nearly 3 million trees planted on 2000 ha
•

89. Renewable energy
• Renewable energy technology has matured
and is becoming cost competitive
• The ‚solar income‘ of the world is 15,000
greater than current daily energy use
• The Gulf region has 7,000 watts of solar
energy income per square metre in 12 hours,
more than most regions of the planet
• Solar energy could generate sustainable
energy supplies for the Gulf as well as huge
export revenues
•
•

92. Regenerative urbanisation as
organising principle
• Cities need to take responsibility for their eco-footprints
• National policies for regenerative urbanisation
• RE supply from the urban territory and hinterland
• “Circular metabolism”: Turning waste into a resource
• Policies to enhance compact urban development
• Support for zero carbon transportation
• Composting bio-wastes for peri-urban food production
• Support for large scale “out of town“ tree planting
• Support for ecosystem protection and restoration
•
•

93. •

95. Can the Gulf take the lead in RU?
• The funds are available
• Solar resource in abundance
• Research already underway at
Gulf un iversities
• Examples already in place:
Masdar, etc.
•

96. Books and Reports
- Creating a sustainable Adelaide, 2003
- Cities People Planet – Liveable Cities for a Sustainable
World, Wiley, 2004 und 2008
- A Renewable World, Green Books, 2009
- 100% Renewable Energy For Cities, 2009
- Regenerative Cities, 2010
www.worldfuturecouncil.org