Scotland is sitting on a global warming time bomb according to a former government adviser on the environment.
Prof James Curran said greenhouse gas released from moorlands could make climate change irreversible.
He said moorland soil, which contains massive amounts of carbon, was drying up and eroding as temperatures rose causing the release of carbon dioxide.
Prof Curran, who has just left enivornment protection agency Sepa, said it was happening on a large scale.
He said in some areas there was evidence of up to 20% of land surface erosion.
"Potentially over future decades, the peat itself will release as much carbon monoxide into the atmosphere as we do in Scotland through our own human activities," he said.
"We can try and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and become more energy efficient. It's tough, but it's that urgent"
"That would make climate change irreversible. The earth itself is generating carbon monoxide and climate change becomes unstoppable."
Some scientists are now speculating the release of CO2 from soil could see temperatures rise up by 7C, far more than current predictions of 2C to 3C.
Prof Curran said this could mean up to a third of the world's species becoming extinct.
He urged people to start living a more "sustainable life".
Global warming
"We can try and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and become more energy efficient. It's tough, but it's that urgent," he said.
Sepa (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) is holding a conference at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 2 and 3 October.
It is bringing together environmental experts to discuss the continuing impact of global warming on Scotland.
The event concludes a review of Scotland's environment by Sepa, which says some progress has been made over the past 10 years.
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