Scotland met its annual climate change target for 2015, although there was a slight rise in greenhouse gas emissions compared with the previous year, new figures have shown.
Emissions were measured at 45.5 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent in 2015, with the target for the year having been set at 46.928 million tonnes.
However, the 2015 total marked a small increase on revised figures for 2014, up 1.8% from 44.7 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent.
The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 also contains an interim 2020 target to reduce emissions by at least 42% on baseline levels.
By 2015, a reduction of 41% had been achieved.
Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “New figures show that Scotland has met its annual greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for the second consecutive year and remains comfortably on track to meet its 2020 target.
“This progress has been achieved against a backdrop of ongoing data revisions resulting from improvements to the way we measure emissions.
“The statistics also show that we continue to outperform the UK as a whole, with our efforts to drive forward transformative change in our energy system clearly paying off.
“We always knew meeting our ambitious targets would be tough and that they bring a number of challenges, as well as opportunities. Our draft Climate Change Plan sets out a package of measures across transport, heat, electricity generation and energy efficiency which will help us go further.”
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