Could Tuvalu become the world's first carbon neutral country?

Earlier this month, the leaders of the G8 attracted strong criticism with what many perceived as a failed attempt to make progress fighting climate change. The lack of action, though, is not stopping the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu; the world's fourth-smallest country now pledges it will become entirely carbon-neutral by 2020.

Public Utilities Minister Kausea Natano said his nation of 12,000 people wanted to set an example to others.

Tuvalu is made up of a string of atolls with the highest point only 4.5m (15 ft) above sea level, making it extremely vulnerable to flooding.

The government hopes to use wind and solar power to generate electricity, instead of imported 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 said.

Many Pacific atolls like Tuvalu are worried that rising sea levels in the future could flood entire islands. But Tuvalu is not the first to make such a pledge -- in fact, it is only the 11th to make the pledge, joining countries like Iceland, New Zealand, and even Portugal (which has 10.6 million people, or approximately 1060 times as large a population as Tuvalu's).

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