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Tackling climate change
08/10/2008
Finance Secretary John Swinney today backed recommendations to strengthen the UK Climate Change Bill.
The recommendations, to increase emissions reduction targets to 80 per cent and to include all greenhouse gases, were made by the UK Committee on Climate Change in a special report prepared for the UK Government.
Writing to Ed Miliband, UK Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Mr Swinney said:
"As a partner to the UK Bill, the Scottish Government supports the Committee's advice to amend the UK 2050 target.
"The Scottish Government is already committed to an 80 per cent reduction so this is in line with the long term aspirations of our proposed Scottish Climate Change Bill.
"This advice will have a significant bearing on our forthcoming Climate Change Bill which we will bring before parliament later this year."
The UK Committee on Climate Change is an independent expert body created to advise the UK Government and the devolved administrations on how to meet their climate change goals.