Scottish government is failing to hit greenhouse gas emission targets

The Times
May 28, 2009
Scotland Staff

The Scottish government is failing to hit its own targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, figures show.
Energy use in official buildings and emissions from business travel have both gone up — though the government has hit targets for reducing waste and cutting water consumption.
Yesterday it announced that it was teaming up with the Carbon Trust in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint. It said that its plan, which will cost £80,000 a year, has the potential to achieve a 20% cut in emissions by 2014, based on 2007 levels.
Stewart Stevenson, the Climate Change Minister, said: “This government is determined to play a leading role in global efforts to reduce emissions. As part of our drive to create a greener Scotland, we must lead by example and put our own house in order.”

The annual report on the environmental performance of government buildings found that energy use had increased by 2.5 per cent last year, and was now 2.2 per cent below 1999 levels.
One target requires government buildings to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 7,221 tonnes by March 2011, but the figure for last year was 8,082 tonnes. A waste recycling target, however, has been exceeded.
More than 1,000 tonnes of waste were produced last year — 17 per cent less than the previous year — and 76 per cent of this was recycled.
On government transport and travel, an emissions reduction target originally set for 2011 was achieved in 2007 and a tougher target was then set. This is not being reached and last year there was a 6 per cent rise in business travel emissions despite more use of video conferencing.
The official watchdog, Sustainable Development Commission Scotland, called for more scrutiny and independent reporting of progress.
Professor Jan Bebbington, of the commission, said: “At a time when government is promising to lead by example, it is clear that we need to see better progress in how government manages its offices and travel to reduce its impacts.
“What is of most concern is the need for greater transparency. The UK government has independent scrutiny of its environmental reporting and the Scottish government must put such a system in place in order to have credibility in leading Scotland in sustainable development.”