Burning ban failing to protect England’s peatlands, say conservation groups

A peat bog restoration programme. The Climate Change Committee has warned that peat restoration rates are well below what is needed to achieve net zero by 2050. Photograph: Wayne Hutchinson/Alamy

The government is failing to protect peatlands in England, conservation groups have warned, with the country at risk of losing more of its most efficient carbon sinks.

Figures obtained by Wildlife and Countryside Link suggest illegal burns of the areas, which are important for biodiversity and carbon sequestration, are likely to have taken place.