 the European Union are stronger for having the United Kingdom in Scotland as part of it. That ends the debate on the European Union referendum. The next item of business is a statement by Eileen Macleod on the publication of the 2013 greenhouse gas inventory. The Minister will take questions at the end of her statement and there should therefore be no interventions or interruptions. I note that a number of people are not in their places, we are now. I now call on Ailey MacLeod minister 10 minutes. Thank you, Presiding Officer. This is a milestone year for climate change with a new global treaty to be negotiated in Paris in December, and those negotiations will seek illegally binding a universal agreement on climate change. That treaty must form the foundation for a truly effective international response to climate change, limiting global temperature rise to no more than two degrees Celsius, and protecting the poorest and most vulnerable from the worst extremes of climate change. Scotland has world-leading ambition on climate change, and we are calling on other countries to match that ambition. In that context, I want to update the chamber on the publication earlier this morning of the latest statistics on the Scottish greenhouse gas emissions and the progress being made. The statistics show that Scotland's source emissions—that is, greenhouse gas emissions from sources in Scotland in 2013—were 34.3 per cent lower than the 1990 baseline, a third lower. Further, on the wider emissions measure recorded in the net Scottish emissions account, which takes account of the EU emissions trading, the 2013 level was 38.4 per cent lower than the 1990 baseline. Those data demonstrate that Scotland is now more than three quarters of the way to our 42 per cent reduction target by 2020. Let me underline that point, because Scotland is on track to meet our 42 per cent target by 2020, if not before. Those figures demonstrate that Scotland is making significant progress in making the low-carbon economy a reality. Scotland, Germany, Denmark, the US and China all have fast-growing low-carbon sectors. Scotland is at the centre of a new strong story about low-carbon driving a renewal of the global economy, delivering jobs, growth, regeneration, energy security, the circular economy, climate resilience, social justice, climate justice and tackling poverty. We know that we have to underpin this ambition with domestic action, and progress against the annual targets that are set in legislation is very important. Changes to the methodology for calculating emissions have added 10.6 megatons to the 1990 baseline from when the fixed targets were set, making it harder to meet those fixed targets. Despite that, the net Scottish emissions account in 2013 was 49.7 megatons compared to the target of 47.9 megatons, a gap of less than 4 per cent. If it had not been, for successive increases to the baseline since the targets were established, Scotland would have met and exceeded our target for this year and the three previous years. We have made significant progress, but, like all other countries, we must continue to lift the pace of our actions year on year. Achieving our targets is clearly not easy. It is not something that Government can do on its own, and it requires support from right across society. I was very appreciative of the strong cross-party support and from the public for action on climate change expressed at the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland rally at the Parliament on 27 May. I hope that we can continue to maintain that consensus in the important period ahead. Last year, we announced new actions that Government would take, and those are being delivered. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Climate Change is ensuring co-ordination of our response at the highest level within Government, and the ambition of the sub-committee and Cabinet overall on the agenda is resolute. I am very pleased that ministers collectively are determined that we place appropriate priority on climate change and that the Cabinet have agreed to embed climate change in the autumn's budget process. I am pleased to announce further action across Government that will reduce our emissions. Scotland's homes are the account for a quarter of our emissions. Energy efficiency is key to meeting our targets, and we are making good progress. Since 2008, nearly one in three households have installed energy efficiency measures, and more than a third of Scotland's homes have a good energy efficiency rating, an increase of 56 per cent since 2010. We have increased investment in domestic energy efficiency from £94 million last year to £119 million this year, and since 2009, we have allocated over half a billion pounds to fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes. Heat accounts for approximately half of our emissions and over 55 per cent of our energy demand. We spend £2.6 billion annually heating and cooling our homes and businesses. This week, we are publishing our heat policy statement, placing energy demand reduction and reducing the need for heat at the top of our hierarchy of actions. It provides a framework for largely decarbonising our heat system by 2050, diversifying sources of heat, reducing pressure on energy bills and seizing economic opportunities. We will now go further to realise the full potential of carbon saving from energy efficiency and drive down energy costs. Scotland's new energy efficiency programme will provide an offer of support to all buildings in Scotland with domestic and non-domestic to improve their energy efficiency. That will be the cornerstone of action to designate energy efficiency as a national infrastructure priority, and further detail will be set out in the infrastructure investment plan later this year. Our approach to energy is essential to the challenge of reducing emissions, and energy efficiency must be at the heart of the approach that we will take to decarbonising our energy system. We will work together with energy experts, businesses and communities to develop a more holistic approach to those issues over the next year as we prepare for the third report on proposals and policies in 2016. The Scottish Government has consistently sought opportunities to provide additional investment in sustainable and active travel, and I have agreed with the Deputy First Minister that we will carry this commitment into the next Parliament. As part of that, we will launch a second future transport fund. We will review the programmes to ensure that they are effectively targeted to reduce transport emissions, improve air quality and promote active lifestyles, including exploring how we might support the concept of exemplar travel settlements and how to refocus and enhance our support for low-carbon buses, including scrappage of the oldest most polluting vehicles from the bus fleet. We will set out further detail in the budget this autumn. The school run, Presiding Officer, is a significant cause of congestion, localise air pollution and contributes to inactive lifestyles. We will investigate school transport choices and what influences those, map existing activity, assess what is most cost-effective and advise where efforts would best be concentrated. That will lead to a relaunch of an integrated policy on tackling the school run. We will also start work with the local authority to develop a low-emission zone. We will discuss with local authorities where a pathfinder would most usefully be undertaken. Initially, we will support transport modelling, understanding the pressures on air quality and emissions. That will allow the development of a low-emission zone, both in terms of how the zone operates and how travel needs can be supported. Meet the End Planning Officer is a potent greenhouse gas. We will build on successful pilot projects to roll out the retrofit of landfill gas capture at older sites. A further £500,000 will be invested this year to tackle the legacy of past waste management practices. We have an ambition for every household in Scotland to have access to a food waste collection and to accelerate the action already under way across Scotland to divert food waste from landfill. We will provide an additional £5 million over two years to help those local authorities who have yet to roll out food waste collections. We will also shortly publish work on the carbon impacts of a more circular economy, one of the first attempts anywhere in the world to quantify those benefits. If we get smarter about how we manage materials, the carbon savings could be significant. The importance of peatland has been recognised in two recent debates, and through the Scottish National Heritage-led peatland action initiative, 5,580 hectares were restored last year. £10 million is already available through the Scottish road development programme, and I am pleased to announce a further £3 million to support peatland restoration this year. The Scottish Government and the Scottish National Heritage will shortly publish our peatland plan, a strategic approach to managing, protecting, and we are required to restore Scotland's peatland. We had previously announced measures to tackle agricultural missions from permanent pasture through the common agricultural policy greening, and we will go further than that and introduce a requirement for compulsory soil testing on all-improved land. In addition, we will also be working with stakeholders to take increased action on livestock, health and production diseases in order to reduce the intensity of emissions from the sector. We started work on the next report on proposals and policies on RPP3 last October. We are developing a new model that will help us better to understand the opportunities and the challenges that we face. Reducing emissions can only be based on action by all of us and not just the Government if we are to meet our ambitions. Therefore, I am clear that we will engage widely within Scotland and with the UK Government and the European Union as we develop RPP3 over the coming months. We are making good progress, but of course more needs to be done. In this milestone year for our environment, Scotland is acting locally and it can help to show the way globally. We are calling on other countries to match Scotland's ambition to boost the global economy through low-carbon and to protect the poor and the vulnerable here and abroad from the worst impacts of climate change. That ends the statement from the minister who will now take questions raised on issues in her statement and tend to allow until 4.58 for questions, and then we will need to move on. It would be helpful if members who wish to ask a question could press the request button now. I call Seela Boyk, Ms Boyer. On the advance copy of the minister's statement and note that the change of timing enabled rural committee members to return from Parliament Day in Orkney to hear the statement, although I do note that I heard the headline announced from press in advance of the statement today. Will the minister firstly confirm that the SNP Government has missed its fourth annual target in a row? Given that the revised 1990 baseline reveals that there was a higher level of dangerous climate emissions, will she confirm that she has no intention of watering down the targets, which would send a dreadful message ahead of the Paris talks? Does the minister understand our disappointment at the lack of new proposals, the lack of details on new funding for the transformation that we urgently need in our building stock, given the level of fuel poverty that a third of our households live with day to day? Does she understand our disappointment that there has been an increase in business and industrial processes emissions? Will the minister accept that the challenge is not whether there is a consensus within this chamber for radical action, but the challenge is what the Scottish Government is actually going to do in its budget and in its RPP to deliver the radical transformation that Scotland needs to meet our targets? We have put in place a comprehensive package of policies and measures to meet our emission reduction targets. I have already just set out in my statement exactly what we are prepared to do in terms of our further action that we are prepared to undertake and ensure that we actually meet our emission reduction targets. It is also fair to point out that, although I am, to be honest, I am disappointed about missing our fourth annual target, it is very important to put on record that what we have achieved in terms of that long-term target, we are more than at three quarters of the way towards achieving our 42 per cent emissions reduction target, as I set out in my statement. That is amazing progress that has been made by this Government, by the Parliament, by the people of Scotland, by businesses and industries right across Scotland. The reason why we are having a challenging facing our annual emission targets is simply because the data on which our targets are based on has improved. The successive changes that have been made to the data on which our targets are established have moved on, and we are making substantial progress towards achieving our 42 per cent target. We have set out this afternoon the further action that we are prepared to take, which I think is extremely substantial, especially in terms of our energy efficiency now being designated as a national infrastructure priority. I thank the minister for the early sight of this statement, but I share the disappointment and concern that, four years running now, the Scottish Government has failed to meet its targets and the cumulative impact of that means that we will all have to work even harder as we go forward. We support the extra measures on making all homes more energy efficient and boosting insulation, which we have asked for continually. Can the minister indicate what the extra spending commitment is in terms of today's new energy efficiency programme, and how will the Government ensure the new measures reach the homes of difficult-to-reach groups like the very elderly or severely disabled who might need help in assessing these schemes? Also, on food waste, how will the Government support the most rural and island local authorities where a food waste collection system is more difficult due to having disparate settlements and smaller economies of scale? In terms of our energy efficiency programme, the cornerstone of a national infrastructure priority is our Scotland's energy efficiency programme. We have said that we will develop this programme over the next two to three years in conjunction with our stakeholders. It will, for the first time, bring together action on the domestic and non-domestic sectors. The new programme has the potential to transform the energy efficiency of Scotland's housing stock. It will provide an offer of support to all buildings in Scotland to help them to achieve a good energy-efficient rating of more than 15 to 20-year periods. The new powers that are due to be devolved to the Parliament of Scotland Bill to determine how supplier obligations in relation to energy efficiency and fuel poverty operate are due to be devolved. That gives us the scope to be able to tailor our new programme to Scotland's unique circumstances. For example, it will help to ensure that we effectively target support in remote, rural and island communities that have not been adequately served by the UK's existing energy company obligation. Equally, it will give us a scope to design programmes to address the unique nature of Scotland's built environment. For example, a lot of our hard-to-heat housing, which we find in many of our rural areas, is in solid walls or in historic conservation areas. We have said that we will work with stakeholders over the next two to three years to develop and design that programme. We will be sending out further information in due course. I advise members that I have 13 members who wish to ask a question of the minister. I have less than 15 minutes to allow that to happen, so can you keep it to one question, keep it brief and minister, I'd be grateful for brevity to Rob Gibsonfall by Claudia Beamish. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome this positive programme. Can the minister confirm that the high percentage reduction in greenhouse gases emissions from 2012 to 2013 is not just methodological? What specific actions the Scottish Government has taken to achieve such a high percentage reduction? It is clear that the introduction of a tighter EU emissions trading scheme cap is a result of the introduction of phase 3 of the emissions trading scheme that has had a significant impact on emissions. That impact was reflected in the report on proposals and policies. However, what is important and what we are focused on is delivering the sustainable long-term emission reductions that were inquired by the climate change act. Going forward, we expect emissions to continue to decline due to policies that are being put in place by the Scottish Government. Progress towards Scotland's climate change targets is measured against the net Scottish emissions account, and that account incorporates the greenhouse gas emissions from sources in Scotland, our share of emissions from the international aviation and international shipping as well. It takes into account the use of emission allowances by Scottish industries and airlines participating in the EU emission trading system. When the 2013 emissions are adjusted to take account of the above, the net Scottish emissions account shows a decrease of 14 per cent between 2012 and 2013. With emissions from agriculture still accounting for 23.4 per cent of total emissions with a cut of only 1.1 per cent, can I ask the minister if she is confident that the range of right measures are in place to reduce the range of emissions from this sector? While recognising the demonstration value of the climate-focused farms, there are only eight of those. Does the minister now agree that the time may have come to expect a simple mandatory carbon reporting process for all farms to be consulted on? There are carbon audits that I built into the Scottish World Development programme, but following the success of the farming for a better climate, additional funding of £100,000 has been allocated in 2014-15 to increase the number of focused farms from 4 to 8 to allow greater coverage and enable more farmers to attend demonstrations. Of course, the agriculture and climate change stakeholder group is further strengthening industry initiatives to promote the uptake of emission reduction measures. Thank you. Supported by the Green Bus Fund and Stagecoach East Scotland has just introduced 18 new hybrid buses on the Arbro Dundee route in my constituency, and there is plans to replace the fleet 70 inland carrying your Dundee service next year, so I absolutely welcome the commitment that the minister has given to enhancing existing support for low-carbon buses in the next Parliament. However, I wonder if she could indicate how the Government will actively encourage increased participation in the scheme and whether she believes that sufficient funding will be available to meet anticipated demand? Since its launch in 2010, five rounds of the Scottish Green Bus Fund have provided £13 million to support the introduction of 269 new low-carbon vehicles, mostly hybrids, into the Scottish bus fleet. That fund is complemented by the bus service operators grant, which currently pays double the standard rate of grant for services operated by low-carbon vehicles. We are currently reviewing future options for supporting green buses in the light of technological and market developments and the increasing importance of air quality in order to maximise value for money and impact. Jim Hulme, by Rodri Cymru. I am disappointed that the minister has chosen to release the figures to the press rather than to the Parliament, but no matter in the last three years, not one single building on the Scottish Government's 79 building estate has seen an improvement on its energy performance certificate. Indeed, only two buildings have renewable energy sources. Can the minister explain how her department will rectify this and set an ethical example for renewables in our public sector? I did not quite catch all of what Mr Hulme said, but I will put on the record that the statistics that were published this morning, they were published, the artificial statistics and they were published online, the artificial statistics and they are independent of the Government. In terms of what Mr Hulme was asking me, in terms of the cornerstone of the national infrastructure priority that was set out earlier in terms of the Scotland's energy efficiency programme, I have said that that programme has a potential to transform the energy efficiency of Scotland's housing stock, and it will provide an offer of support to all buildings in Scotland to help them to achieve a good energy efficiency rating over that 15 to 20-year period. That programme will provide the support to overcome the upfront costs of installing energy efficiency measures, and, as I said earlier, we will work with stakeholders over the next two to three years to develop and design that programme, and we will be setting out further detail information in due course. While it is very disappointing that the annual target has been missed, how does Scotland compare to the rest of Europe at the present time? For progress against the emission targets Scotland and in terms of our UK, we use slightly different definitions. For direct comparisons with the UK, it is advisable to use the source emissions, including international aviation and shipping. On this basis Scotland's emissions have decreased by 3.6 per cent between 2012 and 2013, compared with 2.3 per cent for the UK as a whole. Between 2019 and 2013, there was a 34.3 per cent reduction in emissions in Scotland compared with 27.4 per cent reduction for the UK as a whole. In terms of Mr Campbell's question around the EU data, unfortunately, we do not have comparison data for EU countries at this time because the comparable figures have not been released yet by the European Environment Agency, and we look forward to receiving them. In terms of our emission reduction targets between 1990 and 2012, the EU average was 18.5 per cent in Scotland, with 29.9 per cent from 2012, so we are outperforming not only the UK, but we are also outperforming the EU average as well. Lewis MacDonald fell by Angus MacDonald. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am sorry, I missed the very beginning of the minister's statement, but I did hear her promise to make an offer of support to all buildings in Scotland on energy efficiency. Then she talked about consulting on that. Can she tell us how much new money the Scottish Government intends to invest in this objective over the next 12 months, given that it does not want to miss the targets again in 2016? The new programme will include multi-year funding that will give our delivery partners the certainty that they need to deliver the ambitious energy efficiency projects. As I said earlier, the detail of the programme itself still needs to be developed, and we will be working with stakeholders over the next couple of years before launching the new programme. Angus MacDonald fell by Patrick Harvie. Welcome to stats showing that Scotland's source emissions are over a third lower than the 1990 baseline. To help to improve on that, what is the minister doing to support economically challenged communities and households in Scotland to tackle emissions and fuel poverty, and in the process have a better quality of life? We have already allocated more than £500 million since 2009 on a raft of fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes. Nearly one in three of our households, more than 700,000, have now received energy efficiency support. Tackling fuel poverty remains a priority for this Government, and for this year we are spending unprecedented amounts on fuel poverty and energy efficiency, with a record budget of £119 million for 2015-16. Our HEAP schemes are also supporting those that are most in need. For example, £48 million of the £65 million available for HEAP's area-based schemes in the current year is allocated on the basis of need, which takes into account levels of fuel poverty and reflects the different types of properties within rural areas. Our spending on domestic energy efficiency has already made hundreds of thousands of homes warmer and cheaper to heat, and, as the Scottish House condition service shows, it has helped to mitigate the rise in fuel poverty. The re-announcement of the national infrastructure priority for energy efficiency, which John Swinney first agreed to more than six months ago after pressure from Alison Johnson, will hopefully lead to some good work, which Greens have been calling for for more than a dozen years. Is not that the story of this whole scenario? We are seeing only after four failed targets. I am asking a question. Only after four failed targets we are seeing action beginning to happen and a few pilot exercises on transport when we already know what has to be done. The story is that Scotland has reduced our emissions by 38.4 per cent, and that is a significant progress that we are making in terms of our long-term target. We are more than three quarters of the way towards achieving our 42 per cent target in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, and that is something that we should celebrate in terms of the amazing progress that has been made not just behind this Parliament and this Government, but by the people of Scotland. Does the minister share my view that decarbonising freight transport will help the Scottish Government to meet future climate change targets? We need more freight off-road on to sea and rail. Does the minister agree? The Scottish Government is committed to rail electrification, recognising the key benefits that it brings in terms of improved journey times and connectivity, the environmental benefits and reduced industry costs, particularly on that intercity network, including the north of Perth to Inverness and the central belt to Aberdeen. Michael Russell, followed by Michael McMahon. Can I ask the minister how we make this personal for each citizen of Scotland? She has mentioned the people of Scotland several times in her statement, but it is only the people of Scotland who, in the end, will take the steps on transport and heating that will make the difference. Tremendous progress has been made. How do we make this a personal priority for every single person in this country? Can I thank Mr Russell for that question? We know that Government election alone cannot meet the ambitious targets that have been agreed by this Parliament. Therefore, we continue to work with a range of audiences to put in place the information and resources that will enable change to take place. We are working with and supporting a wide range of partners to drive forward a coherent package of interventions to deliver that shift that we need to see in our low-carbon behaviours. That includes our greater together engagement with the general public and working with established networks such as EcoSchools, Young Scott, EcoCongregations, the 2020 climate group, the Sustainable Scotland Network and the Climate Challenge Fund. Michael McMahon, followed by John Finnie. The minister tells us that if she believes that anyone should be surprised that when she tells us today that only now will she be working with energy experts, businesses and communities on housing emissions in preparation for the third report on proposals and policies, her Government will fail to meet its legally binding commitment to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016. Does she accept that this is far too little, much too late? Work is already under way in terms of how we deal with fuel poverty. Since 2009, over half a billion pounds has been spent by this Government in how we address fuel poverty and our energy efficiency measures. Of course, there is more for us all with still to do, but we are making significant progress in how we deal with our fuel poverty. After four failures, will the Scottish Government now go ahead with the deposit refund scheme, rather than wait to do anything with the rest of the UK? We are considering that in relation to the Zero Waste Scotland study. The minister's statement mentions the role that agriculture has to play in reducing carbon emissions, and it speaks of the intensity of emissions from the agricultural sector. My question is how can any reductions in those emissions be measured when no baseline has ever been set? Minister, your answer can be a bit longer. You have got to 458. We are measuring the nitrogen oxide in terms of our agricultural emissions. We will now move on to the next item of business. It is consideration of motion number 13384, in the name of Liam McArthur, on the appointment of a member of the Standards Commission for Scotland.