A new report has revealed Scotland has made "good progress" on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

Emissions in Scotland fell by 9.9% in 2011, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said.

In the UK as a whole, there was a decline of 6.9%.

The report said that much of the reduction was due to the weather plus a switch from coal-fired electricity generation, to nuclear and renewable sources. While it praised the good progress being made in investing in renewable energy sources, the CCC added that more needs to be done in order to meet future targets.

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Elsewhere, the report found there was a fall of more than 20% in the power and residential sectors, with a 15% decline in emissions in the public sector.

However, the country just missed the legislated annual target of 53.4 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). It is understood this is down to a change in how estimated emissions are calculated.

David Kennedy, Chief Executive of the CCC, said: "There has been good progress in Scotland on reducing emissions in key sectors of the economy, notably through investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

"This should not be obscured by the fact that emissions in 2011 were above the level targeted because of a change to the accounting methodology. But much remains to be done in terms of policy development and implementation to achieve very challenging future targets, and to unlock the benefits for Scotland of building a low-carbon economy."

(JP)