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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent and Kate Connolly in Berlin

‘Like an oilwell in your back yard’: Irish people turn to cutting peat to save on energy bills

Oil Ireland Germany Michael Fitzmaurice Bord na Móna
Rows of peat turf in Ireland
Ireland’s bogs are important carbon sinks and sources of biodiversity. Photograph: Patrick Bolger/the Guardian

This was supposed to be the year Ireland got serious about protecting its bogs but some of those hopes are wafting up in smoke as households burn peat to save on energy bills.

The soaring cost of oil and gas has reinvigorated the ancient practice of cutting and burning turf, a fuel that hurts the environment but can save a family thousands of euros, especially as temperatures drop to freezing.

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