Restoring peatlands involves re-profiling the land with diggers to ensure it remains wet enough to store carbon
A group of companies and charities has written to the Science Based Targets Initiative to say that decision is holding back the flow of private finance. The waterlogged ground prevents oxygen from decomposing the dead plants which locks carbon into the landscape. Each year they release the equivalent of more than six million tonnes of carbon dioxide which is almost the same as emissions from heating our homes.In 2020, the Scottish government pledged to restore 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030 but have been slow to do so, with only about 18,500 being restored during the first three years of the decade.
They advise on how to reduce the bulk of their greenhouse gases and then buy "carbon credits" which finance schemes which "offset" residual emissions, primarily through tree planting.