The Lib Dems said they would set more recycling targets

Ross Finnie predicted that marine energy could lead to 10,000 new posts by 2015 if there was sufficient investment.

He also claimed that 4,000 jobs could be created in recycling over the next three years as he launched the party's "green jobs" agenda for the Scottish Parliament election.

Mr Finnie said the Lib Dems were committed to maintaining the funding for projects like the Marine Energy Test Centre in Orkney and the Intermediate Technology Institute in Aberdeen.

Natural resources

He said the party would also raise the recycling target from 25% by 2006 to 55% by 2020.

"Scotland has the potential to be at the forefront of a green technology revolution," he argued.

"We have the natural resources, the expertise and the companies to exploit this potential and create thousands of new jobs in research and manufacturing across Scotland."

It is time for us to take a hard look at exactly what we want our health service to deliver Nicola Sturgeon SNP health spokeswoman

Mr Finnie also claimed that his party was the driving force in the Scottish Executive on environmental issues and urged voters to back the Lib Dems rather than the Greens with their second vote.

The Scottish Green Party's national secretary Mark Ballard took to the streets of Edinburgh to proclaim a "Green Budget" before Chancellor Gordon Brown made his statement to the Commons.

Mr Ballard told passers-by that his party wanted to see subsidies on arms exports scrapped and defence spending cut.

The savings should then be used to cancel Third World debt and increase foreign aid, Mr Ballard said.

Mr Ballard also called for moves to discourage car use and said the Greens would introduce taxes on the wasteful use of resources.

Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party - which tried to contest the holding of the Budget during the election campaign - announced proposals to review the number of hospital beds.

Waiting lists

Health spokeswoman Nicola Sturgeon said that Dr Andrew Walker would head a team of experts set up to assess the capacity required to meet the country's health needs.

"In the last four years, Labour has cut almost 1,000 acute beds from the health service at a time when waiting lists and waiting times are rising.

"It is little surprise that the number of patients being treated has gone down and the time it takes to get treatment has gone up, when the health service has been getting smaller," said Ms Sturgeon.