aim of meeting an equivalent of 100% of electricity from renewable energy by 2020. As we've discussed before , however, it also aims to ramp up production of fossil fuels - so in practice it would be producing more energy than it needs and exporting more. The calculation about exactly what impact renewables will have on emissions levels looks a bit more complicated if Scotland can export more electricity from fossil fuel power stations to the rest of the UK. That issue aside, the Telegraph's presentation of this issue probably says more about its editorial position than the credibility of the figures. UPDATE 26th October REF has now sent us a copy of its communication with journalist Auslan Cramb, which has clarified matters somewhat. It appears that REF's calculation was based on the amount of carbon dioxide displaced by only those Scottish renewables receiving subsidies under the Renewables Obligation (RO). The REF representative said in his email to Cramb that large scale hydro plant constructed before 1990 and some incinerated waste are excluded from the RO and that this could account for the difference between REF's calculations and the government's. The government's calculation - contained within the answer to the parliamentary question - was based on the amount of electricity produced by all renewables, subsidised and unsubsidised. The REF representative also suggests that the government's estimate that renewables have displaced 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide is based on the assumption that renewables displace fossil fuel power stations only, leaving