News In Focus
25 June 2009
MSPs pass Climate Change legislation
The Scottish Parliament has passed the Climate Change Bill, which sets a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, including emissions from international aviation and shipping. It also sets an interim target for a 42% cut in emissions by 2020.
The 42% target can be scaled back in the absence of certain actions by other countries.
Householders could earn a £50 reduction in council tax as an incentive to adopt measures such as insulation to reduce energy consumption. The bill will also permit automatic grants of planning permission for energy generating measures. Businesses may face restrictions on the packaging they can use.
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."
The Government is to publish a timetable within 12 months for implementing its powers.
Mr Stevenson added: "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 tens of thousands of jobs and help us emerge from the current global economic downturn on the back of a strong green economic revival.”