Wild Moors has welcomed the Climate Change Committee’s latest advice urging the UK government to ensure nature restoration efforts are scaled up. The CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget (CB7) emphasises the need for nature-based measures as a crucial part of boosting land-based carbon sequestration.

The Seventh Carbon Budget highlights the importance of expanding habitat creation and restoration, including re-wetting peat bogs and planting more woodlands, positioning the UK’s uplands at the heart of climate action.

By 2040, the CCC’s Balanced Pathway envisions over 16% of the UK covered in woodland, up from 13% today. This expansion will create biodiverse woodlands that sequester carbon in both vegetation and soils.

Historically, many upland landscapes have lost their woodlands in steep-sides ravines and on moorland slopes due to deforestation and intensive land use. Restoring these woodlands is vital, combining tree planting, with native species such as oak, rowan and birch, with natural regeneration where there is a seed source.

The Balanced Pathway also projects an increase in the proportion of peatlands in natural or rewetted conditions, rising from 26% in 2033 to 54% by 2040. Most of this progress must happen within the next decade, as these restored peatlands are expected to deliver over half of the UK’s land-use emissions by 2040.

Despite their current overall poor and degraded state, an increasing number of upland peatlands are showing signs of recovery, thanks to efforts such as blocking gullies, installing leaky dams and planting sphagnum moss. A growing number of upland landowners and land managers are playing a pivotal role in reversing habitat degradation.

Peer-reviewed research confirms that restoring upland landscapes not only enhances carbon storage but also unlocks a range of co-benefits for society. These include boosting biodiversity, providing natural flood management, enhancing air and water quality and strengthening wildfire resilience.

Nature restoration also supports green jobs and skills in sustainable land management and habitat restoration, providing economic and social benefits to rural communities.

Wild Moors stands firmly behind the CCC’s call for nature restoration and urges the UK government to work with landowners to scale up these vital measures to combat climate change and restore the nation’s upland landscapes.

Image credit: Marcin Nowak