Climate change targets

Scotland has set a clear path to achieving its target of reducing emissions by 42 per cent by 2020 after a draft order to set annual emissions targets for 2010-22 was laid in Parliament today.

The targets proposed in the draft order take account of advice from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and the deliberations of a cross party working group over the summer.

Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson said:

"Scotland has the most ambitious climate change legislation anywhere in the world and these annual targets set a clear framework for achieving our 2020 target. The targets go further than those recommended by the UK Climate Change Committee and reflect a number of meetings of the cross party group.

"If Parliament agrees the new Order, we will present a draft Report on Proposals and Policies (RPP) to Parliament for consideration which will set out how we plan to reduce emissions. We have aligned our preparatory work on the draft RPP with our preparation of the draft Budget and we expect to provide Parliament with the opportunity to consider both key documents in parallel. Consideration of the RPP alongside the draft Budget will ensure that, in demanding financial circumstances, Scotland can take economic advantage of the opportunities required to reduce emissions.

"As a country we are making excellent progress towards achieving our world leading climate change targets and recent emissions figures show Scotland has reached the halfway point in achieving its 2020 Climate Change Act target of reducing emissions by 42 per cent."