The Pacific island state of Tuvalu has set a goal of a 100 per cent shift to renewable energy by 2020, hoping to set an example to industrialised nations to cut greenhouse gases it blames for rising sea levels. Tuvalu, a string of coral atolls whose highest point is 4.5 metres above sea level, estimates it would cost just over $20 million to generate all electricity for its 12,000 people from solar and wind power and end dependence on diesel. "We look forward to the day when our nation offers an example to all � powered entirely by natural resources such as the sun and the wind," Kausea Natano, minister for public utilities and industries, said in setting the 2020 target. Tuvalu and many other low-lying atolls in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean fear that rising sea levels could wipe them off the map. They want governments to agree a strong new UN deal in Copenhagen in December to slow climate change. A first $410,000 solar system on the roof of the main soccer stadium in the capital, Funafuti, has been generating five per cent of electricity for the town since it was installed in late 2008. Tuvalu says that 'king tides' whipped up by more powerful cyclones are already bringing salt water onto crops. Sea levels rose 17cm in the 20th century and the UN Climate Panel estimated in 2007 they could rise by another 18-59cm by 2100, and perhaps even more if a thaw of Greenland or Antarctica accelerates.

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