Recommendation 39

Building renewable energy infrastructure on peatland is counterproductive to the achievement of net zero if this results in the release of accumulated carbon stores into the atmosphere. Given this context, and the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations for peatland restoration in the Seventh Carbon Budget, it is surprising that the Government’s proposed new guidance for onshore wind in EN-3 does not contain a presumption against building on deep peat, though we recognise that there are areas in which such development would be unavoidable. The weakness in the guidance also appears to undermine efforts of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to protect peatland. (Conclusion, Paragraph 95) 57