Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
The 2009 figures show a seven per cent reduction between 2008 and 2009, with total emissions falling from 54.8 million tonnes CO2 equivalent in 2008 to 51.0 in 2009.
Taking emissions trading into account, Scotland's emissions have fallen by 27.6 per cent since the 1990 base year, meaning that Scotland is well on the way to achieving its 2020 target of reducing emissions by 42 per cent.
Minister for Environment and Climate Change Stewart Stevenson said:
"These figures demonstrate continued progress towards achieving our world leading climate change targets.
"Whether public sector, private companies or households, we all need to play our part in delivering a low carbon Scotland which will continue to see greenhouse gas emissions fall.
"As encouraging as these results are, we must not be complacent about meeting our targets, as events like the recent severe winters may have an impact on our emissions in future years.
"The challenge for Scotland therefore remains to find ever more innovative ways to drive down emissions, while creating a more sustainable, low carbon economy for Scotland."
The annual report on greenhouse gas emissions data for all four countries of the UK for 1990, 1995, 1998-2009 produced for the Scottish Government, Department of Energy and Climate Change and the other devolved administrations by AEA Ltd is also being published today.
Targets in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and the Government's Economic Strategy Sustainability Purpose targets, are set out in terms of net emissions. Net emissions, are calculated by adjusting total emissions for the carbon sink contained in land use and forestry sectors as well as the effect of emissions trading in the European Union Emissions Trading System.
