Scotland emissions actions praised

Nov 25 2012

Environment minister Paul Wheelhouse hopes that other countries will be encouraged to match Scotland's "level of ambition" when it comes to reducing emissions.

Mr Wheelhouse urged world leaders to develop meaningful proposals to tackle climate change as he revealed Scotland tops a European Union (EU) emissions reduction table.

Between 1990 and 2010, emissions fell by 22.8%, with the European Environment Agency Greenhouse Gas Data Viewer showing this is above the rest of the UK.

The minister for environment and climate change is now preparing to take part in talks at a conference in Doha, Qatar, this week with ministers from almost 200 countries.

Ahead of attending the UN Conference of the Parties, Mr Wheelhouse urged leaders to commit to higher levels of ambition to tackle climate change.

He said: "Scotland has world-leading climate change legislation and we are half way to meeting our target of a 42% cut in emissions by 2020.

"We are committed to taking strong action to deliver emissions reductions and the fact that Scotland tops the EU-15 countries for emissions reduction, ahead of Germany, Denmark and England - and significantly higher than the EU-27 countries average of 14.3% - is testament to our level of ambition and the work that has been undertaken so far."

He added: "However, we cannot be complacent in our approach and are committed to doing all we can to deliver action to ensure our targets are met."

Last month, environmentalists protested outside Holyrood days after it emerged that the Scottish Government failed to achieve its first legally-binding emissions target. The Scottish Greenhouse Gas Emissions Annual Target Report stated that Scotland emitted 54.7 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2010, 1.1 megatons above the target set by the Climate Change Act 2009.

But despite this, Mr Wheelhouse said at the time that he is confident that future targets will be met. He said: "We are very clear about the scale of the challenge and are taking action to deliver the emissions reductions within our powers. But worldwide action is necessary and that is what I will be pressing for in Doha. I want to see more action and higher levels of ambition across the world, and I hope that other countries will be encouraged to match Scotland's level of ambition."