Scottish Greens call for bolder action on climate targets

The Green party has warned that Scotland could miss its annual climate change target as ministers urge Westminster to match its ambitions.

The Scottish climate change secretary has written to the UK government saying that Scotland is "paying the price for the UK's lack of climate ambition".

The Scottish government publishes its 2013 greenhouse gas figures on Tuesday.

The Greens said Scotland was failing to pursue policies that would get emissions down.

A spokeswoman for the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said: "There is absolutely no lack of ambition in tackling climate change from the UK."

'On track'

The Greens say that only an unprecedented drop in emissions can stop Scotland from missing its fourth annual climate target in a row.

Greenhouse emissions rose by 400,000 tonnes in 2012 despite a projected drop of 178,000, but the target for 2013 will require a massive drop of eight million tonnes.

Scottish Climate Change Minister Aileen McLeod said Scotland remains "on track to meet our world-leading target of a 42% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020".

International negotiations continue on a new global climate change treaty to be agreed in Paris in December.

Ms McLeod said: "For that treaty to stand a good chance of limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, the UK and the rest of the international community must match Scotland's high climate change ambition."

She added: "Scottish emission levels also depend to a significant extent on policies at UK and EU level. And Scotland is paying the price for the UK's lack of climate ambition."

'Be bolder'

The DECC said: "We have already cut our emissions by 30% since 1990, we're on track to meet our domestic carbon budgets, and we led Europe to get an ambitious EU carbon plan for 2030."

Green MSP Patrick Harvie, a member of Holyrood's economy and energy committee, said: "Since the Scottish Parliament agreed to set challenging climate change targets there has been a failure of the current Scottish government to pursue policies that will get our emissions down.

"An area the Scottish Greens have consistently pushed in parliament has been community and public ownership of energy assets."

He added: "The Scottish government needs to be bolder on community energy and should seek to increase not cut its investment, otherwise we can only conclude it does not understand the urgent need for a transformational policy agenda."