The symbolic power of sustainability: Gulf megaprojects and the case of Expo City Dubai

Abstract

Sustainability has a unique symbolic power in the contemporary political landscape, as ordinary people, governments and institutions grapple with the effects of the climate crisis. Proponents of megaprojects have tapped into the symbolic power by framing their initiatives as “green,” however resource-intensive they might really be. This article illustrates how this works in the UAE through a case study of Expo City Dubai, the greenfield site developed for the World’s Fair, Expo 2020, and then used to host the UN’s COP28 climate negotiations in late 2023. At both events, sustainability’s symbolic power was used to advertise the UAE’s supposedly pro-environment credentials on a world stage, as well as to recruit investments in the Expo site’s redevelopment as a new green technopole in Dubai—and in so doing legitimate Emirati leaders’ ongoing commitment to megaprojects that are ultimately designed to continue and intensify the country’s resource-intensive political economy.