Scotland sets world’s most ambitious climate change targets

The Climate Change Bill sets emissions reductions targets of 80 per cent by 2050, and this includes emissions from international aviation and shipping. It also requires the Scottish Government to set legally binding annual cuts in emissions from 2012.

The bill, developed following a public consultation which received over 21,000 responses, is tougher than the UK Government's Climate Change Act, which sets a 34 per cent target by 2020 and which has no statutory annual targets – although like Scotland the UK has set a target to reduce its emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

The Scottish bill will aim to build a sustainable future for Scotland by contributing to the country's sustainable economic growth by moving the public and private sectors towards a low carbon economy. The bill also makes provisions on energy efficiency and the reduction and recycling of waste.

Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson said: "Scotland can be proud of this bill, the most ambitious and comprehensive piece of climate change legislation anywhere in the world. As a country we are leading global action and expect others to follow our lead as we look to the international summit in Copenhagen this December. Setting targets is not an end in itself, it is delivery that matters. In our Delivery Plan published last week we set out a vision of how we will achieve our targets, demanding action now and in the future.

"While climate change is a threat, it should also be seen as a real opportunity. Harnessing the energy related opportunities presented by Scotland's natural capital can create 10s of thousands of jobs and help us emerge from the current global economic downturn on the back of a strong green economic revival. Achieving these targets will be challenging. But I am confident that Government, business and the people of Scotland are ready to rise to the challenge."

The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger also gave his backing to the Bill, saying: "Scotland's ambitious and comprehensive targets encourage other nations to step up to the plate as we look toward an international agreement in Copenhagen, and it sends a message to the world that we must act now and we must act swiftly."