Three Gulf states - Qatar, Kuwait and Oman - are expected to sign up soon to a World Bank programme aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by finding commercial uses for natural gas that is still burned, or flared, as a by-product of oil production.

Amid growing awareness of climate change and the need to conserve resources for their expanding water and power needs, the Gulf states are seeking ways to reduce their huge environmental footprint.

Qatar and Kuwait are among the world's top carbon dioxide emitters per capita, according to recent US statistics.

The region flares about 30 billion cubic metres a year of gas, the equivalent of 900,000 barrels a day of crude oil, or about $10 billion a year, says Bent Svensson, manager of the bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership. According to WWF, the conservation agency, the UAE has the highest per-capita consumption of resources. Ambitious real estate projects and the fast-growing oil-driven economy are placing a severe strain on power supplies in the UAE, which in spite of having the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserves faces a gas shortage.