Peat Bogs: Environmental Protection

(asked on 10th February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect peatlands.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 26th February 2021

We are committed to restoring and sustainably managing England's peatlands. The Chancellor announced in March 2020 that as part of the Nature for Climate Fund, 35,000ha of peatland restoration would be achieved over the next 5 years. This represents a significant step forward in our restoration efforts and will require us to work closely with a wide range of stakeholders.

We are taking action now to prevent further damage to protected blanket bog by bringing forward legislation that will limit burning of vegetation; and will be consulting later this year on measures to phase out the use of peat in horticulture.

The Government will be setting out further measures to restore, protect and manage England's peatlands this year as part of a package of measures to protect England's landscapes and nature-based solutions.

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