Patting Ourselves On The Back

There are two stories in the paper this weekend which could bring a warm glow to a Scottish face and lull us into a false sense of security.

The first is from the Observer, telling us that Scotland is ahead of schedule in our commitment to have 50% of our power from renewable energy by 2020. Projects which have been given planning permission plus projects which are already running, represent 35% of the nation's energy needs.

The second "give ourselves a clap" moment isn't so much the scare story in today's Sunday Herald, but more the table which accompanies it (from Rob Edwards):

The pollution promises made

countries / cuts in emissions so far promised

Scotland / 80% by 2050
European Union / 80% by 2050
United States / maybe 71% by 2050
Canada / 20% by 2020
Russia / stay at 1990 levels
Brazil / 10-20% by 2020
Mexico / 10% by 2014
Australia / 60% by 2050
South Africa / 40% by 2050
China, India and other Asian countries / reduce ‘emissions intensity’ 20% by 2020
Other countries / business as usual

source: European Environment Agency

I'm not above begrudging people five minutes to feel good about themselves, but let's not get complacent here. There is a lot of work needs to be done before we can reduce our emissions to a sustainable level. In particular, scientists now say that the 80% cut isn't enough, it needs to be 90%. Let's hope the Scottish Government can be pressured into upping that promised level to 90%, with yearly targets.