ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi, one of the biggest per capita producers of greenhouse gases in the world, outlined a plan Monday to generate 7 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources in just over a decade.

The head of the Gulf state's multibillion-dollar green energy initiative announced the target at the start of a renewable power summit in the Emirati capital. Officials said most, if not all, of the goal will be met using solar energy.

Abu Dhabi currently relies on natural gas and other fossil fuels for its power needs.

Abu Dhabi controls nearly all the vast oil reserves in the small seven-state United Arab Emirates, which environmentalists say is one of the largest per-capita emitters of greenhouse gases. It has sought to position itself as a renewable energy leader despite being the Middle East's third-biggest petroleum producer.

Sultan al-Jaber, chief executive of the sheikdom's Masdar alternative energy initiative, said the plan would create a renewable energy industry worth $6 billion to $8 billion for the emirate.

The sharp drop in oil prices - the source of much of the emirate's wealth - and the financial crisis would not stall the implementation of the project or other alternative energy initiatives already announced, he said.

"We are looking beyond the current economic downturn," al-Jaber told reporters following the announcement. "Our appetite is still the same. ... And we still also have an appetite to look for new opportunities."

Abu Dhabi launched Masdar, which it describes as a "future energy company," in 2006 with the aim of developing an alternative power technology sector in the emirate.

The centerpiece of the company's efforts is a $22 billion self-contained, futuristic community known as Masdar City being built outside the capital.

Developers say the solar-powered, car-free city will be entirely carbon neutral and produce no waste once it is completed in 2016. It is expected to host 1,500 companies, 40,000 residents and 50,000 commuters.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based solar power company First Solar Inc. said last week it reached a deal to supply five megawatts of thin film solar modules for the project. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Separately, Masdar and state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. signed a deal Sunday aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the emirate's oil and gas facilities. Projects in the works include collecting and reusing rather than flaring natural gas at certain petroleum sites and the use of other waste gases to produce fertilizer.

Monday's announcement came at the start of the three-day World Future Energy Summit. The Abu Dhabi conference and trade show, now in its second year, is emerging as one of the main forums for the alternative energy industry.

Attendees largely praised the goal announced Monday, while challenging other large polluters such as the United States to do more to reduce carbon emissions.

"The last place on the planet you would think leadership would rise from on this issue is Abu Dhabi," Kevin Parker, Deutsche Bank's global head of asset management and an outspoken advocate of alternative energy investment, said in an interview.

"They're clearly at the heart of the problem, and yet trying to find a bridge to a new world and putting their money where their mouth is," he said. "It's just an astonishing turn of events."