Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
The figures show a 3 per cent reduction between 2007 and 2008 with total emissions falling from 57.8 million tonnes CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2e) in 2007 to 56.1 million (Mt CO2e), in 2008.
Taking emissions trading into account, Scotland's emissions have fallen by 21.2 per cent from 1990 - meaning Scotland has reached the halfway point in achieving its 2020 Climate Change Act target of reducing emissions by 42 per cent.
Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson said:
"These figures demonstrate the excellent progress we are making towards achieving our world leading climate change targets.
"Our energy sector is playing a leading role in the drive to reduce emissions with nearly a quarter of Scotland's electricity demand met by renewables during 2008. Since 2008 there has been significant investment in the sector with the round of leases for marine projects in the Pentland Firth and sites across Scotland set to deliver offshore wind capacity of 10.6GW. This additional investment means electricity generated from renewable sources will play an even greater role as we strive to reduce emissions even further.
"Everyone from Government, business, industry and individuals will need to play their part to ensure we deliver a low carbon Scotland and meet our ambitious climate targets.
"We recognise the challenge presented by rising transport emissions which is why we are investing record levels building new rail lines, improving the bus network and rolling out new cycle and walking paths across Scotland.
"We will continue our efforts to influence the EU and international community to increase their ambitions through our work with the Climate Group's States and Regions Alliance, and with our partners in the UK Government. And later this year we will set out proposals to set us on the trajectory towards a low carbon Scotland."
