Unlike many metropolises that use green urbanism as a worlding strategy, Arab cit- ies seem reluctant to embark on ambi - tious schemes addressing sustainability issues. To explain this situation, the article highlights three arguments. Firstly, as state-led governance prioritizes social stability, existing green plans have been scrapped in the face of political threats. Second, large, allegedly sustainable proj- ects such as Masdar should not hide ongoing unsustainable urbanization fea- tures. Thirdly, the dominant framings of sustainability tend to focus on global issues (greenhouse gas emissions and low carbon energy), hence neglecting local claims for sustainability that do not fit into global environmental narratives.