Three nature-related issues to challenge your MP on

1. Peat

Peat, the partially decayed vegetation and organic matter commonly found in bogs and moorland, is one of our most effective natural methods of storing carbon. Losing just 5% of the UK’s peatland would be equivalent to the carbon emissions created by the UK during an entire year. According to Friends of the Earth ‘peatlands are our rainforests’.

As well as being a key player in the fight against climate change, peat also helps mitigate its effects by absorbing water and preventing flooding, and provides a habitat for loads of our native species.

But our peatlands are under threat, largely from the horticulture industry where peat is used for garden compost. We’ve already lost 94% of our lowland peatlands, and 700,000 tons of peat are still harvested each year in the UK, with even greater amounts imported from Ireland and Baltic nations. And despite government targets to phase it out, peat consumption is rising.

Challenge your MP to back a ban on peat used for garden compost, and tell them how important it is that we invest money in peatland restoration to tackle climate change.

2. Seagrass

If you’re looking for a plant that has it all, look no further than seagrass. As well as providing a home to a vast array of marine life, it captures carbon faster than rainforests! Globally, seagrass beds occupy 0.1% of the sea floor, yet sequester a massive 11 % of all the carbon in the oceans.

But seagrass is on the decline, due to a combination of climate change, destructive fishing practises, coastal development and pollution. In the last century, 92% of UK seagrass has disappeared. A pilot project spearheaded by the WWF is currently restoring 20,000m2 of seagrass meadow in West Wales, but more must be done. Talk to your MP about investing in further restoration of seagrass, particularly if you live near the coast.

3. Trees

We all know that planting more trees is essential for cutting our carbon, as well as mitigating the effects of flooding. Unfortunately, our actions haven’t caught up with our words, and tree-planting in England fell 71% short of official government targets last year, with just 1420 hectares of new trees. This is drastically below the 1.5 billion new trees the Committee on Climate Change says are needed by 2050, which would equate to 30,000 hectares a year - and we’ll need to plant more if we want to go zero carbon even sooner.

Ask your MP to push the government to tackle climate change by increasing the rate of tree-planting.

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