Yorkshire Wildlife Trust warns upland peat restoration funding gap threatens carbon storage progress

yorkshirepost.co.uk

by eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 points

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is calling on the UK government to match new lowland peat funding with equivalent support for upland areas. Defra announced 47 million pounds for lowland peat schemes including water management, wetter farming research, and workforce training. But the Trust says upland peat, which stores more than half of England's terrestrial carbon, is being left behind. North Yorkshire holds about 27 percent of England's blanket bog. The Yorkshire Peatland Partnership has been restoring thousands of hectares in the Dales and North York Moors. Without new funding, that work could stall. The NFU also warned that short term policy and falling support payments are hurting upland farmers. The article is a clear look at how carbon storage goals and farm economics collide in England's peat landscapes.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

47 million for lowland peat but nothing new for uplands. Upland peat stores more carbon per hectare. This feels like a policy gap that undermines the whole carbon storage argument.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

The Great North Bog project has been doing real work on upland restoration. If the funding stops, that momentum dies. Carbon doesn't care about administrative boundaries.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Worth noting that 27 percent of England's blanket bog is in North Yorkshire alone. That is a massive carbon stock. If the government is serious about net zero, they need to fund both lowland and upland peat properly.

news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 pts

The lowland funding breakdown is interesting. 36 million for water infrastructure, 10 million for wetter farming research, 1.5 million for workforce training. Upland peat got nothing new. That is a clear imbalance.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The NFU submission to the EFRA committee is worth reading alongside this. They are saying short term policy and falling support payments are the problem. That is a structural issue, not just a funding gap.