Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) today welcomed new renewables targets for Scotland. Commenting on the fact that Scotland looks set to generate 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 [1] FoES‚ Chief Executive Duncan McLaren said:

"These targets are great news for Scotland‚s environment and good news for the Scottish economy.  These are ambitious but realistic targets and show that Scotland is at last capitalising on its wealth of renewable resources.  With these targets Scotland will become a world leader in low carbon electricity generation."

"Alongside a massive drive for energy efficiency, rolling out new renewable electricity generation is a vital part of efforts to reduce emissions [2].   By hitting 50% renewables by 2020 it now seems realistic to aim for 100% before 2050 which will make a vital contribution to meeting climate change targets.  We now hope similar progress will be made in generating heat from renewable sources as this accounts for even more of our energy needs and emissions."

"This level of renewable generation shows that there is no need to waste taxpayer‚s money on replacing Scotland's ageing and ailing nuclear plants when they come offline.  Sadly whilst Scotland builds up its renewables capacity the rest of the UK could be left behind attempting to manage the risks, expense and uncertainties associated with new nuclear power stations."
 
ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] The Scottish Government today announced new renewables targets of 31% by 2011 and 50% by 2020. The Scottish Government's previous renewable target was 40 per cent by 2020. See: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2007/11/27095600

[2] The 'The Power of Scotland' - a joint report by RSPB Scotland, WWF Scotland and FoE Scotland - sets out how Scotland could tackle climate change without the need for nuclear power. Read the report: http://foe-scotland.org.uk/nation/Power_of_Scotland.pdf