Tuesday 11 September 2007

Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland, said:

"August was another dull and wet month and the summer was the 5th wettest on record. The UK as a whole saw its wettest ever summer, though Scotland was even wetter than the UK average. Overall 2007 is heading to be one of the warmest and wettest years ever recorded, which is exactly what the scientists predict for the future of Scotland. It is depressing to think that the average summer in the future is going to be more like the dull, damp 2007 than the scorcher we had in 2003.

"As the politicians return to Holyrood after their summer break they face their first tests on tackling climate change. Although we won't see any climate change bill proposals until the end of the year, our MSPs will be thinking about the bill to scrap bridge tolls over the next few months. The extra traffic predicted to hit our roads as a result of scrapping these tolls will send climate change emissions rising instead of dropping. If MSPs are not very careful they are in danger of setting Scotland on course to fail to meet its climate targets even before those targets are agreed."