The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee will hear from a number of witnesses today in a non-inquiry live evidence session at 2.30pm to examine the natural and environmental benefits and impacts of peatlands.

Holding up to one-third of the world’s soil carbon – twice that of the world’s forests – peatlands are vital wetland ecosystems that can store greenhouse gases for millennia. In the UK, peatlands store around 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon and help to protect landscapes from drought and flooding. Last year’s Environmental Improvement Plan committed to restoring 250,000 hectares of peatland in England by 2050.

However, 80% of England’s peatlands are currently degraded and one study in 2025 placed the UK only twelfth for peatland protection out of 28 countries with at least 15,000 km2. This leaves them vulnerable to damage from livestock grazing, farming and pollution.

In the session, MPs will explore the current health of the UK’s peatlands and consider how they contribute to the UK’s climate and nature goals. They are likely to ask witnesses about Government policies on peat, such as the commitment to ban the sale of horticultural peat and expansion of the ban on burning peat.

Witnesses will appear as follows:

Panel one, from 14.30:

• Sally Nex, Advocate, The Peat-free Partnership, Plantlife
• David Denny, Director of Research & Knowledge Transfer, Horticultural Trades Association
• Andrew Gilruth, Chief Executive, Moorland Association

Panel two, from 15.30:

• Gabrielle Edwards, Deputy Director of Access, Landscape, Peatland and Soils, Defra
• Alan Law, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer, Natural England
• Craig Rockliff, Head of Biodiversity Data, Nature Regulation & Peatland, Environment Agency

Click here to watch the meeting live on ParliamentLive TV or catchup later