Is There Sustainability in the Current Path for UAE?

The UAE has had its share of news coverage lately with its debt repayment schedule and obligations.  As expected, there has been much written about this region and it's excesses.  Skiing indoors in the desert.  Construction of islands in the sea.  I remember reading at one point I believe last year that over 25% of the world construction cranes were operating in the UAE.


Jul 7, 2008 - Dubai has skyscraper fever—and 25 percent of the world's cranes. More than $310 billion in construction is underway or planned, including the Burj Dubai, which will reach 160 stories at a rumored height of 2684 feet (the competition in Dubai is so intense, the developer doesn't want to ... 

From To Live in the Sky, Try Dubai - Related web pages

This growth, is it sustainable?  At present, default potential is looming only days away on debt that has been starved of cash flow to service it.  How long will it be before the economy is restored and the debt service is not a burden?  Also at present, COP15 is underway in Copenhagen.  And the UAE is once again in the crosshairs of sustainability - this time from an environmental emphasis.  The UAE has energy consumption that is really rather staggering having peaked in 1991 at more than 10x the world average and significantly more than Canada or the US.  It is argued that a considerable portion of that "carbon-footprint" comes from the importation of almost everything, and the water desalination plants (high electricity load facilities).  Water in the desert?  AbuDhabi is constructing a city that is touted as "the world's first carbon-neutral zero waste city" (http://www.masdarcity.ae/en/index.aspx).  Is this enough to transform the region into a more green path forward?  One step at a time, the debt in whatever manner needs to be reconciled and restructured possibly.  The next days/weeks will be telling.