ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates � With one of the highest per capita carbon footprints in the world, these oil-rich emirates would seem an unlikely place for a green revolution.

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Daryl Visscher for The New York Times

Different types of solar panels are being tested at Masdar. The city, designed by Norman Foster, will include a research park.

Gasoline sells for 45 cents a gallon. There is little public transportation and no recycling. Residents drive between air-conditioned apartments and air-conditioned malls, which are lighted 24/7.

Still, the region�s leaders know energy and money, having built their wealth on oil. They understand that oil is a finite resource, vulnerable to competition from new energy sources.

So even as President-elect Barack Obama talks about promoting green jobs as America�s route out of recession, gulf states, including the emirates, Qatar and