Peat was historically mined overseas because it burns so well. But Australia’s subtropical peat bogs need fire to survive

Catherine Yule, Author provided

When I lived in Kalimantan in Indonesia in the 1990s and later in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, I would often wake to toxic, smoke-filled skies. The air would be filled with the distinctive smell of burning peat, as farmers cleared tropical peat swamp forests to make way for oil palm plantations.

Airports and schools would close, and hospitals would fill with people in respiratory distress – myself included. Global greenhouse gas emissions would spike because peatlands are the planet’s most carbon rich ecosystems.