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> the entire country's economy is based on cheap fossil fuel extraction. I'm not sure that's true anymore. According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wik

by pivo 6y ago

> the entire country's economy is based on cheap fossil fuel extraction. I'm not sure that's true anymore. According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Dubai https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Dubai) oil now accounts for only 1% of their GDP.

mrpopo 6y ago
The country's economy is based on petrol - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Arab_Emi.... At least 46%. Maybe Dubai managed to diversify its economy with tourism and what-else but it's rather obvious to understand that such a city cannot thrive on its own (without an extensive, petroleum-based food/energy delivery system).
totalZero 6y ago
Dubai is one part of the UAE, itself an extremely small place. The vast majority of the economy of the UAE is based on petroleum. If you consider that tourism and construction are conducted on the back of "wonders" and infrastructure that came about due to the petroleum industry, that majority gets larger. If you consider that Dubai's existence as a "financial hub" is entirely predicated upon the petroleum resource trade including shipping and refining, that majority balloons even further. "Before oil was discovered in the 1950s the UAE's economy was dependent on fishing and a declining pearl industry. But since oil exports began in 1962, the country's society and economy have been transformed." (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14703998 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14703998) The question is, do you believe the economy of Dubai would decrease by more than 1% if all petroleum business within the UAE were halted tomorrow? I think it's clear that yes, the economy would react significantly. That 1% number comes from a two-year-old shill piece from Bloomberg (click through the Wikipedia citation if you don't believe me) that doesn't show its data or the breakdown by sector for all of Dubai's GDP.

by pivo 6y ago

mrpopo 6y ago

The country's economy is based on petrol - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Arab_Emi.... At least 46%. Maybe Dubai managed to diversify its economy with tourism and what-else but it's rather obvious to understand that such a city cannot thrive on its own (without an extensive, petroleum-based food/energy delivery system).

totalZero 6y ago

Dubai is one part of the UAE, itself an extremely small place. The vast majority of the economy of the UAE is based on petroleum. If you consider that tourism and construction are conducted on the back of "wonders" and infrastructure that came about due to the petroleum industry, that majority gets larger. If you consider that Dubai's existence as a "financial hub" is entirely predicated upon the petroleum resource trade including shipping and refining, that majority balloons even further. "Before oil was discovered in the 1950s the UAE's economy was dependent on fishing and a declining pearl industry. But since oil exports began in 1962, the country's society and economy have been transformed." (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14703998 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14703998) The question is, do you believe the economy of Dubai would decrease by more than 1% if all petroleum business within the UAE were halted tomorrow? I think it's clear that yes, the economy would react significantly. That 1% number comes from a two-year-old shill piece from Bloomberg (click through the Wikipedia citation if you don't believe me) that doesn't show its data or the breakdown by sector for all of Dubai's GDP.