UK invests 47 million pounds in peatland restoration for carbon storage and flood protection

The UK government's Defra announced 47 million pounds in new funding to restore England's degraded peatlands, which store more than half of the country's terrestrial carbon. Currently 80% of England's peatlands are dry and releasing carbon instead of locking it in. The funding covers three schemes: lowland water management infrastructure, research into wet farming crops like bulrush for building materials, and workforce training for restoration work. This is a concrete nature-based carbon solution with multiple benefits. Restoring peat reduces emissions, improves flood protection, supports wildlife, and creates new economic opportunities for farmers through paludiculture. The funding targets both immediate infrastructure needs and long-term capacity building, which matters for scaling up restoration efforts across different peat landscapes.