The Scottish Government has said more money is to be made available to help the country meet its ambitious targets.

Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse, revealed the additional funding, saying it would be allocated from the forthcoming Scottish Government budget for 2014/15 for schemes to help reduce its carbon footprint.

In addition, Mr Wheelhouse also confirmed £2m is to be allocated towards greener street lighting, which could result in significant carbon reductions to protect the environment and save councils money.

Scotland is already more than halfway to meeting the 2020 target and continues to lead Europe on cutting emissions. Between 2010 and 2011, direct Scottish emissions fell by 9.9%, the largest single year-on-year decrease since regular reporting of emissions began in 1998.

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Speaking as he published the finalised second report on proposals and policies (RPP2), which outlines climate change strategies for meeting targets up to 2027, Mr Wheelhouse said: "A low carbon Scotland will help to protect our environment and grow our economy – with the benefits being felt across Scottish society.

"Securing additional funding in next year's budget will enable us to invest in projects which will support the transition to a low carbon society and economy – making smart choices for a greener future.

"The specific investment for greener street lighting is an early but great example of making that smart choice and shows that being greener can have significant other benefits too. Initial analysis of the recent pilot projects show a potential saving of 67% of local authorities street lighting costs so this is an area where cost-effective action on emissions can be taken by the public sector."

(JP/CD)