EDINBURGH, Scotland, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- An increase in nuclear and renewable energy resources in Scotland led to an overall decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, the government said.
Scotland published its 2009 greenhouse gas emission results Tuesday. It found that between 2008 and 2009, there was a general decrease in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in all sectors except for forestry.
The government reported that for 2009, around 51 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent were released into the atmosphere, down 7 percent compared with the previous year. Since 1990, the government said, there was an overall 28.9 percent reduction in emissions.
"The overall decrease in emissions from 2008 to 2009 is primarily due to differences between the type of fuel used to generate electricity, with a reduction in the use of oil and gas and an increase in nuclear and renewable, combined with lower fossil fuel consumption by industry and by the transport sector," the government said in a statement.
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing unveiled renewable energy targets for 30 percent renewables overall by 2020. Another 500 megawatts of community and locally owned renewable energy would be added to the grid by the end of the decade.
Edinburgh aims to get 100 percent of its electricity demand from renewable energy by 2020. The country used renewable energy to meet 27 percent of its demand in 2009.
