At risk from rising seas, Tuvalu seeks clean power

* Tuvalu to shift to renewables for electricity by 2020

* Atolls at risk from rising sea levels

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO, July 19 (Reuters) - The Pacific island state of Tuvalu set a goal on Sunday of a 100 percent 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 (15 ft) 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 U.N. deal in Copenhagen in December to slow climate change.

Natano said in a statement that Tuvalu's own efforts to curb the islanders' tiny greenhouse gas emissions "will strengthen our voice" in the negotiations.