By Tom Heap Presenter, Radio 4's Costing The Earth Masdar City
aims to be powered solely by renewable energy sources The
world's first zero-carbon city is being built in Abu Dhabi and
is designed to be not only free of cars and skyscrapers but also
powered by the sun. The oil-rich United Arab Emirates is the
last place you would expect to learn lessons on low-carbon
living, but the emerging eco-city of Masdar could teach the
world. At first glance, the parched landscape of Abu Dhabi looks
like the craziest place to build any city, let alone a
sustainable one. The inhospitable terrain suggests that the only
way to survive here is with the maximum of technological
support, a bit like living on the moon. The genius of Masdar -
if it works - will be combining 21st Century engineering with
traditional desert architecture to deliver zero-carbon comfort.
And it is being built now. Masdar will be home to about 50,000
people, at least 1,000 businesses and a university. It is being
designed by British architects Foster