It goes without saying that building a tourist hotspot and finance centre out in the middle of the desert is going to tax the green credentials of even the most environmentally sensitive of local administrators.
But Dubai's latest thing - a beach with sand that's artificially cooled and a refrigerated swimming pool at the Palazzo Versace hotel - really takes the biscuit.
Set for completion in 2010, the energy for the sand project is being supplied by Hyder Consulting, who refuse to say how many kilojoules will go towards the project.
The view of Robin Oakley, head of climate and energy at Greenpeace is that "it's grotesque that while the world's poorest people face the loss of their homes and livelihoods because of climate change, the world's richest people think it's acceptable to waste precious energy so pointlessly".
However, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai's ruler, has said that his plan is to "sustain Dubai's environment, ensuring that it is safe and clean".
Do we believe him, and even if we do, does this mean actually being green in any way, shape or form?
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