Impact of recession on green building and sustainability over residential and non-residential building in United Arab Emirate

The worldwide economic crisis has hit the construction sector hard, the extent to which the recession has affected the construction industry is clear for all to see. Everyone has tales of projects being cancelled Budgets are squeezed and anything unnecessary goes. Greenery may not be unnecessary, but unless it makes a positive commercial difference it is likely being pushed out. All parties in the supply chain want to reduce costs. At the same time the government is pressing ahead with ambitious changes to the rules on sustainability that will affect everyone, particularly in the area of reducing co2 emissions. For many people, the reality of a recession will be a complex inter-relationship between falling property prices, rising costs and the burden of personal debt. In particular, the housing market often acts as an early indicator of the underlying health of the economy it is usually the first area to experience the chill winds of recession and in consequence the green shoots of recovery. The global financial crisis and the resulting economic slowdown may be assumed to have at least the benefit of also reducing environmental degradation in the individual countries. The construction industry must prepare itself now to address the new economic reality and the sustainability imperative. The recovery process maybe slow but the aftermath of the recession is creating many new opportunities driven by a sustainability and green building agenda. Although the amount of green building construction is growing rapidly, the overall volume is still rather small in the context of all residential and non-residential construction. This paper will discuss the consequences and impact of the crisis on residential and commercial green building in United Arab Emirate.