The UK government has called for developed nations to set the right example when it tells developing nations to combat global warming.

Energy minister Brian Wilson called on the industrialised world to 'practice what we preach' when asking the same of less economically developed countries.

Speaking at the world's first global wind-power conference in Paris, Wilson said: 'There is a particular challenge to the most developed countries which are also the biggest energy users.

'It is simply not credible for us to preach the dangers of climatic change and to expect less developed economies to make the necessary adjustments, unless at the same time we are practising what we preach.' Wilson also highlighted the UK's own challenge in light of higher carbon emissions as gas prices soar.

He also focused on the potential of renewables in the developing world.

He said: 'There is no single event that can transform the lives of families and communities more than the arrival of electricity.'

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