World's Most Environment Friendly City to Come Up in Abu Dhabi

The government of Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with WWF (World Wide Fund for nature), has announced its plans for developing the world’s most environment friendly city.

According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), the scheme for the “Masdar development”, as the proposed city is called, involves making it the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste and car-free city.

The report also said that the planned city would aim to meet or exceed a set of stringent sustainability goals established under the “One Planet Living” programme by WWF.

“The vision of One Planet Living is a world where people everywhere can lead happy, healthy lives within their fair share of the Earth’s resources. Masdar gives us a breathtaking insight into this positive, alternative future,” said Pooran Desai OBE, Technical Director of the One Planet Living Communities programme.

“In realising the goal of a sustainable future, Masdar is committed to achieving the One Planet Living Program’s Ten Guiding Principles, covering issues that range from how waste is dealt with to the energy performance of the buildings,” he added.

The One Planet Living program’s 10 guiding principles of sustainability are: Zero carbon, zero waste, sustainable transport, sustainable materials, sustainable food, sustainable water, habitats and wildlife, culture and heritage, equity and fair trade, and, health and happiness.

These targets are to be achieved by the time the Masdar City is completed and fully functioning in 2012.

Photovoltaic panels will generate the electricity for the six square kilometre city, while cooling will be provided via concentrated solar power.

Water will be provided through a solar-powered desalination plant. Landscaping within the city and crops grown outside the city will be irrigated with grey water and treated waste water produced by the city’s water treatment plant.

“We hope that Masdar City will prove that sustainable living can be affordable and attractive in all aspects of human living — from businesses and manufacturing facilities to universities and private homes,” said Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Director of WWF International’s One Planet Living initiative.

“Masdar City will question conventional patterns of urban development, and set new benchmarks for sustainability and environmentally friendly design,” said Dr. Sultan al Jaber, CEO of the Masdar Initiative.

A model of Masdar City will be unveiled on January 21, at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Source-ANI
LIN/M