Government risks ‘international embarrassment’ over failure to protect carbon-rich peatlands

Wildlife Trusts call on government to do more to protect and restore UK’s carbon-rich habitats ahead of UN climate talks

A degraded peatland in Yorkshire (Beth Thomas/Wildlife Trusts)

The government risks “international embarrassment” over its failure to adequately protect and restore the country’s carbon-rich peatlands, campaigners have warned.

Across the world, peatlands cover just 3 per cent of the land’s surface, but store one-third of the Earth’s soil carbon.

The UK’s boggy peatlands store around 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon – around three times as much as woodlands, according to the Wildlife Trusts.

However, the mismanagement and degradation of the UK’s peatlands has caused them to become a net source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Estimates suggest UK peatlands release around 23m tonnes of greenhouse gases each year. This is close to 5 per cent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

The Wildlife Trusts warned that the UK is not doing enough to address emissions from peatlands, which also provide habitat for wildlife and protection against flooding.

The campaign group pointed out that there is still “no sign” of England’s peat strategy, which was due to be published in 2018.

In addition, current government targets for restoring peatlands currently fall short of the levels recommended by the UK’s independent climate advisers, the Trusts said.

Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, told The Independent: “What we're seeing is a massive delay on government action.

“These are some of our most important habitats when it comes to tackling climate change. They could and should be drawing carbon down from the atmosphere, if they were in a good state. But at the moment they’re emitting carbon.”

He added that the government’s lack of action on protecting peatlands could be “very embarrassing” given its role as host for the upcoming UN climate talks, known as Cop26.

Boris Johnson has repeatedly promised to make “natural climate solutions” – such as restoring ecosystems and planting trees – a key part of Cop26.

“It's going to be very embarrassing if the UK hosts the COP and we still don't have ambitious enough plans to restore our peatlands to help us tackle the climate crisis and put nature in recovery,” said Mr Bennett.

A spokesperson for the department of environment, food and agricultural affairs said: “Our peatlands have great potential as a natural store of carbon, as well as protecting habitats, providing a haven for rare wildlife and being a natural provider of water regulation.

“We have worked closely with stakeholders to develop the strategy over the past two years and we will be setting out further measures to protect our crucial peatlands this year, as part of a package of measures to protect England’s iconic landscapes and deliver nature-based solutions.”