A COALITION of charities has criticised the gap between the Scottish Government's ambitions and its achievements on environmental matters.

The "report card" by the independent Institute of European Environmental Policy, on behalf of RSPB Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and WWF Scotland, said that while the Government had very good intentions, it could do better. It found that Scotland's environmental policies were often well ahead of others in the UK and in Europe, but there was a significant gulf between their goals and achievements.

Focusing particularly on the three key areas of agriculture, marine protection and climate change, the research examines the threats facing each, and current measures or legislation proposed to address these pressures.

It recognises that Scotland has some of the most ambitious objectives for mitigating climate change to be found in Europe and says there has been encouraging progress, particularly in renewable energy where capacity has grown rapidly.

However, there were "considerable concerns" about meeting mitigation targets for 2020 and 2030.

Stuart Housden, Director, RSPB Scotland, said: "If this study was to be summarised, the proverbial 'could do better' of the school report would be most apt."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The Government is confident it is ahead of many countries in taking positive action and will continue to do all it can."