Hi John,

My name’s Emma, I led an investigation recently that revealed landowners and grouse shooters are intentionally setting fires on the UK’s largest carbon store. You might have seen our email about it last week. It’s shocking.

I’m going to tell you a bit about how we uncovered this scandal using satellites and hopping on trains to grouse moors across Northern England. If you’ve got a moment though - do sign the petition, the more people that act the more pressure the government will feel.

So, to find out the scale of peatland burning across the UK we used data from satellites – including ones run by NASA and the European Space Agency. We also worked with Greenpeace’s Global Mapping Hub to overlay this evidence with government maps of England’s peat depth, conservation zones, habitats and land ownership. We then cross-referenced this against hundreds of eyewitness reports.

Finally, I packed my bags and went to places like the Yorkshire Dales and saw the scorched and blackened land for myself: spikes of dead foliage which were the embers from a recent fire. The ground I was standing on was set alight in spite of – and in apparent contravention of – a partial ban on peatland burning introduced by the government last year. 

This supposed ban is full of loopholes and it just isn’t working, at all. We found:

• 251 peatland burning incidents 
• One in five of these burns may have been illegal and was likely on land that should be covered by the government ban

We’ve done the research. It’s time to get the government to properly ban fires that are destroying peatland for a minority of wealthy grouse shooters and estates.

If we can’t protect the UK’s largest carbon store from being burnt for sport, how can we hope to begin to tackle the climate and nature crisis facing the planet?

Thanks for all you do,

I’ll keep you posted.

Emma

We don't accept any money from companies or governments so we can be independent and challenge anyone who threatens the planet or peace. To help us keep fighting climate change, defending our oceans and protecting ancient forests, you can become a monthly supporter today. Thank you.

To unsubscribe or change your communication preferences, please click here

You can find out how we use the information you give us in our Privacy Policy

Greenpeace Ltd, Canonbury Villas, London N1 2PN (registered in London no 1314381, VAT registration no 625951426)

This email was sent to: [email protected]