The oil-rich United Arab Emirates was set to start work on Sunday on construction of the world's first zero carbon emissions city, a spokesman for the project said. "Construction on Masdar City begins today," the spokesman told AFP, adding that the 6.5-square-kilometre (2.5-square-mile) development will cost 22 billion dollars and is set for completion in 2015.
Masdar City will house 50,000 people and will be run entirely on renewable energy including solar power, exploiting the desert state's near constant supply of sunshine.
The city, which is named after the Arabic word for "source", will be built in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi. Residents will use electric-powered travel pods to move around the city.
The UAE sits on the world's fifth largest oil reserves and fourth largest gas reserves, most of them in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Proven oil reserves alone are expected to last for another 150 years but, like most oil-producing countries, the UAE wants to diversify to ease its reliance on oil.
The UAE has the world's largest ecological footprint, consuming more natural resources per capita than any other nation, according to a 2004 report by the World Wide Fund for Nature.