The Climate Change Bill now likely to be passed by MSPs today will be genuinely world-leading, according to the environment groups who pushed the issue all the way.

The Climate Change Bill now likely to be passed by MSPs today will be genuinely world-leading, according to the environment groups who pushed the issue all the way.

As reported exclusively in The Herald yesterday, the Scottish Government not only bowed to pressure from the Green lobby and political opponents this week, but decided to trump them by actually increasing the short-term target in Labour's amendment from a 40% reduction in carbon emissions to 42% by the year 2020.

The Stop Climate Chaos Scotland group - comprising environmental, aid and faith groups - will still conduct a mass lobby of the Scottish Parliament this afternoon, believing that while they may have won the battle to raise the emissions target from a 34% cut, they have yet to win the war to ensure this is carried through.

"We have to support this as far as it goes," said Duncan McLaren of Friends of the Earth, but he said there were still doubts about the sincerity of the gambit by the SNP Government.

Ministers were now strengthened by having taken on board all the caveats and conditions attached to the Labour amendment, which would enable them to deny any leverage for further concessions to the Greens or Liberal Democrats.

"We will be looking for any weakening of the position being slipped out during a summer or Christmas recess," said Mr McLaren, who added: "A key will be the international reaction to this. If it is well-received and there is praise for Scotland's leadership in adopting the world's best targets, it will be harder for Ministers to back down."

Mike Robinson, Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said: "By amending the target this bill finally begins to addresses the urgency with which we need to deal with this issue, listens to what the science is telling us, and takes account of the growing public consensus that a target of 42% is required.

"Almost all the parties have rallied round the need for a higher interim target.

"We urge politicians of all parties to support this amendment tomorrow and other amendments to fix some last remaining elements of the bill, including ensuring the vast majority of pollution cuts take place here in Scotland and rejecting plans that would dramatically weaken the climate change duty on public bodies already agreed."

Climate change minister Stewart Stevenson said: "The Scottish Government has already committed to meeting the target of 42% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 based on the EU responding to an international agreement being reached in Copenhagen in December. This amendment reinforces our commitment to world-leading Scottish climate change legislation based on expert advice.

"Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing governments across the world and will have far reaching consequences for us all. Targets must be based on expert advice, the Scottish Government has sought to follow that advice as the Bill has progressed, and as has been recognised, our proposals are more ambitious than the UK Bill.

Green MSP Patrick Harvie said there was concern that the government amendment was built on Labour proposals that were "full of caveats, strings and get-out clauses". He added that the Save Climate Change Coalition would now have to remain in business in order to block any attempt by Ministers to backslide on the new targets.

"It will be up to all of us to keep the pressure on to meet these targets or even extend them," he said.

Labour's Sarah Boyack welcomed the shift on to her party's ground but remained to be convinced that the change would go ahead as planned.