EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The Scottish government said net greenhouse gas emissions for 2011 were nearly 10 percent lower than the previous year.
Scotland has one of the most ambitious renewable energy plans in the world. It aims to generate all of its domestic electricity needs from renewable resources by 2020.
The government published its annual energy statistics report Wednesday. It said net greenhouse gas emissions in 2011, the last full year for which information is available, was estimated to be 51.3 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. That's 9.9 percent lower than 2010 and 29.6 percent less than a 1990 benchmark.
The country's gross domestic product contracted in 2008 during the onset of the global economic crisis but returned to growth by 2009. The government said GDP grew 0.3 percent last year.
Scotland plans to hold a referendum for independence from the United Kingdom next year. The government said it could support itself financially in large part through oil and natural gas developments in the North Sea.
