ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that one reimaging responses to climate change beyond a modernist narrative. It describes state-driven initiatives in the Gulf that epitomize Gulf States' aspirations to gain recognition and consolidate their rule. The chapter discusses the two initiatives, in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi respectively, underscoring their origins, evolution, and outcomes. It also concerns the project, pursued by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to build a zero-carbon city, and demonstrate that the UAE could be a pioneering laboratory for a post-carbon world. The chapter focuses on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, like all states, must reimaging responses to climate change so that they no longer dig the world deeper into modernist practices that seek to dominate nature and encourage material excess. GCC states have put modernity on steroids to pursue their goals and in doing so, they have provided a litmus test for modernity's potential to address climate change effectively and chart an ecologically sound future.
