Abu Dhabi turns sod on first carbon-neutral city

THE world’s first carbon-neutral, car-free, zero-waste metropolis which will house up to 50,000 people is being built in Abu Dhabi.

Masdar will be name of the futuristic city in the hyper-green $22 billion (€15.15bn) project which is scheduled to be finished in 2016.

Abu Dhabi has one of the world’s biggest per-capita carbon footprints. Sceptics believe Masdar may be just a unique PR exercise for the oil-rich Gulf emirate.