Zero-carbon city planned for UAE

The launch party for a city in Abu Dhabi that uses 75 per cent less power than its conventional counterparts has taken place.

Masdar City, which is set to cost around $22 billion (£11.29 billion) to construct, will attempt to be the greenest city in the world by the time it is completed in 2013, the Times reports.

Some 50,000 will be able to live in the area, which will be car-free and use less than half the desalinated water than a traditional city, it was claimed.

According to Sultan Al Jaber, Masdar's chief executive, it will be the first zero-carbon, zero-waste city powered totally by renewable energy.

"Someone must push the envelope to create the solution that we, as a global community, so urgently require," he added,

Although plans for Masdar may be a positive move towards the battle against climate change, the Times suggested that it may be a "striking contradiction" given the carbon footprint generated by the rest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Last month saw $15 million put toward the Masdar Initiative, which is aimed at projects exploring wind, solar and hydrogen power.