Follow the Bagpipes to a Better Copenhagen Climate Deal
June 26th, 2009 | 
Scotland’s decision to cut its emissions by 42 percent by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050, on 1990 levels, sets an example for developed countries and sparks new hopes that world leaders would be able to agree on a successful climate change deal in Copenhagen, WWF said.
Through its ambitious announcement, Scotland becomes the first developed country to meet the demands of science and developing nations, which want the richer countries to take responsibility for bringing the world to dangerously high emission levels.
“At least one nation is prepared to aim for climate legislation that follows the science,” Kim Carstensen, the leader of WWF’s Global Climate Initiative.
“Scotland made the first step to show others that it can be done. We now need others to follow.”
Scientists say industrialized countries as a whole need to reduce the emission by 25 to 40 percent compared to 1990 level by 2020, in order to prevent the world from overheating, resulting in catastrophic impacts.
In Scotland politicians from all parties have taken these recommendations seriously and agreed on the legislation.
“Scotland may be a small nation, but it has proved today that it is prepared to stand up and be counted. This new law sets a benchmark that every industrialised country will need to live up to. If Scotland can show this level of ambition then so can plenty of others,” said WWF Scotland’s Director, Dr Richard Dixon,
More than 190 countries will meet in Copenhagen in December this year to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which currently regulates the emissions of greenhouse gases.
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