Scotland leads on emissions cuts
New data from DECC on regional emissions reveal that greenhouse-gas (GHG) reductions in Scotland are deeper than for other parts of the UK.
The department’s annual GHG inventories, which collate data on emissions from each of the devolved governments, reveal that by the end of 2009 the UK had reduced its overall output of the harmful gases by 28.9% on 1990 levels.
Scotland’s emissions are down 30.5% since 1990, while England, which produces more than three-quarters of the UK’s total GHG emissions, lags just behind, having reduced its emissions by 29.5%.
Wales, which had only cut its emissions by 11% against 1990 levels by 2008, is now beginning to catch up, producing 23.3% fewer GHGs than in 1990. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland has cut its emissions by just 20.3%.
Although he described the results as encouraging, the Scottish minister for environment and climate change, Stewart Stevenson, warned that more innovative methods would be required to ensure further reductions in emissions.