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The Climate Change Scotland Bill has been granted Royal Assent and will now become an Act of Parliament.

Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson said the legislation now means Scotland is a world-leader on action against climate change, one of the most serious threats facing our world.

He said:

"The Scottish Government recognises that climate change will have far reaching effects on Scotland's economy, its people and its environment and is determined to play its part in rising to this challenge.

"The world-leading legislation introduces targets to reduce emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050, and will drive new thinking, new solutions and new technologies putting Scotland at the forefront of building a sustainable low carbon economy."

Scotland's ground-breaking legislation has attracted plaudits from around the world, including from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, who - after the Bill was passed in June - said:

"Scotland's ambitious and comprehensive targets encourage other nations to step up to the plate as we look toward an international agreement in Copenhagen, and it sends a message to the world that we must act now and we must act swiftly."

Mr Stevenson has pledged to share Scotland's forward-thinking strategies with the rest of the UK and also with the rest of the world at this year's UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December.

The legislation creates a long-term framework that:

• introduces a statutory target to reduce Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050
• establishes an interim target of at least 42 per cent emissions reductions by 2020. There is a power to vary the interim target, and Scottish Ministers are committed to delivering the highest achievable emissions reductions based on expert advice from the UK Committee on Climate Change
• establishes a framework of annual targets
• includes emissions from international aviation and international shipping

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