Greenpeace criticises ski resort in the desert

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been awarded the hosting rights for the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

The environmental organisation Greenpeace has condemned the construction of this «dangerous» ski resort in Saudi Arabia.

The warning comes just days after the desert kingdom was awarded the hosting rights for the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

Saudi authorities claim that the new ski resort Trojena in the northwest of the country will be operated with «sustainable infrastructure» and renewable energy.

However, Greenpeace activists have questioned the environmental compatibility of the project.

«You are altering a natural ecosystem, which can have mutually reinforcing effects«, says Ahmed El Droubi, regional campaign director at Greenpeace.

«When you change something in one place, it can change something else somewhere else, and so on, and that can have impacts on neighbouring ecosystems.»

«I don't even know if we are able to predict and model such impacts, and it is a very dangerous thing to alter ecosystems so drastically in this way.

The resort will be located in the Sarawat Mountains, just 50 kilometres inland from the Red Sea. The area is about 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the region, but the snow will nonetheless be entirely man-made.

The Gulf kingdom was the only country to bid for the hosting of the 2029 Games.

The ski resort — the country's first outdoor ski resort — is part of the futuristic 500 billion dollar (500 billion euro) Neom project.

According to Nadhmi al-Nasr, the CEO of Neom, it will be open to skiers all year round.

«Trojena will have the appropriate infrastructure to create a wintry atmosphere in the heart of the desert and make the Winter Games an unprecedented global event«, he said.

The mountain city will also include a vast artificial lake and a «vertical village», a cluster of high-density buildings.

Neom is intended to be completely carbon-neutral and powered 100% by renewable energy.

Activists have, however, criticised the environmental impact of the project. Ahmed El Droubi points to the lake as one example.

«It must be constantly fed with water and will therefore consume large amounts of energy in the long run. Even if it is powered by renewable energy, that is a waste of energy«, he said.

«Just because something is powered by renewable energy does not make it sustainable or environmentally friendly… There are many other factors.»

Why is Saudi Arabia building a «green» city in the desert?

The development of Neom is part of the Gulf state’s efforts to move away from oil. The kingdom is currently the world’s largest oil exporter.

The planned city includes a 160 km long «horizontal skyscraper«, known as «The Line», which, at only 200 metres wide, could reportedly house up to 9 million people.

El Droubi warned, however, that the project would primarily benefit the super-rich.

«My question is: Is there a need for this? Is there a need for truly expensive luxury housing in this city?», he said.

«Who actually needs housing in the region? There is an oversupply of real estate for the wealthy elite».