The Ancient Fuel Making a Controversial Comeback
Amid the current energy crisis exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, several European nations are quietly revisiting one of humanity’s oldest fuel sources: peat. This compressed organic material, formed over thousands of years in waterlogged environments, represents an intermediate stage between decayed vegetation and coal. While historically significant across Northern Europe, peat harvesting had declined for decades due to its environmental impact. However, recent policy shifts in Ireland, Finland, and parts of Eastern Europe signal a remarkable reversal.
In April 2023, Ireland’s environmental protection agency reported a 37% increase in commercial peat extraction applications compared to the previous year. This comes despite the country’s 2019 commitment to phase out peat for electricity generation as part of its climate action plan. The Irish government now frames this reversal as a “temporary energy security measure” while emphasizing its continued commitment to renewable transition targets.
The historical significance of peat extends beyond its practical applications. In many northern communities, peat cutting was traditionally a communal activity that strengthened social bonds and marked the seasonal transition to warmer months. The distinctive earthy scent of burning peat remains deeply embedded in cultural memory across Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia, where it once heated homes for millennia before modern alternatives became available. This cultural dimension adds complexity to contemporary debates, as peat represents not merely a fuel source but a connection to ancestral practices and regional identity.
The Carbon Conundrum
Peat’s resurgence presents a significant climate paradox. Though often overlooked in global climate discussions, peatlands store approximately 550 gigatons of carbon—twice the amount contained in all the world’s forests combined, despite covering only 3% of Earth’s land surface. Peat releases this stored carbon at an accelerated rate when drained and harvested.
Recent research from the University of Helsinki quantifies this impact more precisely than ever. Their 2022 study found that a single hectare of drained peatland emits approximately 7.5 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually—comparable to the emissions from driving an average gasoline-powered car for 29,000 kilometers. More alarmingly, these emissions continue for decades after the initial drainage, creating a long-term carbon debt rarely accounted for in national emissions reporting.
The International Mire Conservation Group estimates that peatland drainage contributes approximately 5% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, yet remains largely unregulated in international climate frameworks. This regulatory gap has allowed the current resurgence to proceed with minimal carbon accounting.
Beyond carbon dioxide, disturbed peatlands release significant quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas with warming potential 25 times greater than CO2 over 100 years. The water table alterations caused by peat extraction create ideal conditions for methanogenic bacteria, potentially triggering feedback loops that accelerate emissions. Furthermore, the particulate matter released during peat combustion contributes to air quality concerns, with studies from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare indicating elevated respiratory risks in communities near peat-burning facilities. These multifaceted environmental impacts make peat’s resurgence particularly concerning for climate scientists, who point to the disconnect between countries’ stated climate ambitions and their practical energy policies during times of crisis.
The Geopolitical Dimensions
Peat’s revival is inextricably linked to the reshuffling of energy politics following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Finland, which derives approximately 5-7% of its energy from peat, gradually reduced this percentage until 2022. However, in September 2022, the Finnish government announced subsidies for peat producers amounting to €26 million, framing the decision as essential for energy independence.
Similarly, according to industry reports from the European Peat and Growing Media Association, the Baltic states have increased peat harvesting by an estimated 22% since 2021. Estonia, where peat has historically been a significant export commodity, has explicitly included expanded peat harvesting in its energy security strategy published in March 2023.
This trend extends beyond Europe. Canada’s peat industry, centered primarily in Quebec and New Brunswick, reported a 15% increase in extraction permits in 2022, with approximately 40% of production now directed toward fuel applications rather than the traditional horticultural market.
The geopolitical calculus driving these decisions reveals the fragility of climate commitments when confronted with energy security concerns. Nations previously committed to peatland restoration quietly modify regulations to facilitate extraction. In Latvia, for instance, the government amended its Environmental Protection Law in November 2022 to streamline permitting processes for peat extraction in previously protected areas, citing “exceptional circumstances related to energy security.” This legislative maneuver bypassed standard environmental impact assessments, drawing criticism from conservation organizations but receiving little international attention.
The economic implications further complicate the picture. Peat harvesting creates rural employment opportunities in regions often struggling with population decline and limited economic diversity. In Ireland’s Midlands, where peat industry downsizing had already created economic hardship, local communities have cautiously welcomed the partial revival despite environmental concerns. This tension between immediate socioeconomic benefits and long-term ecological costs creates political incentives that frequently favor short-term solutions.
Traditional Knowledge and Modern Applications
Perhaps the most unexpected aspect of peat’s resurgence is the renewed interest in traditional harvesting methods. In parts of rural Ireland and Scotland, community-based peat cutting practices that date back centuries are being documented and, in some cases, revitalized. The Peatland Partnership, a Scottish conservation organization, has paradoxically recorded these traditional techniques even as it advocates against commercial extraction.
These traditional methods involve hand-cutting peat blocks using specialized tools like the slane (a spade-like implement), allowing them to dry naturally before use. Modern commercial extraction, by contrast, typically involves industrial machinery that strips large areas and processes the material mechanically.
Some researchers argue that limited, traditional harvesting may represent a middle path. A 2023 Journal of Environmental Management paper suggests that carefully managed, small-scale peat harvesting combined with active restoration of other peatland areas could be carbon-neutral over 50 years. This research remains controversial, but highlights the nuanced debates within environmental policy circles.
The knowledge systems surrounding traditional peat harvesting contain a sophisticated understanding of local hydrology, plant succession patterns, and sustainable yield calculations developed through generations of observation. Dr. Maeve O’Connor of University College Dublin has documented how traditional harvesters could identify optimal cutting locations through subtle vegetation indicators and soil characteristics that modern mechanical methods often overlook. This indigenous knowledge, previously dismissed as unscientific, is now being reconsidered by researchers developing sustainable management protocols.
Technological innovations are also emerging at this intersection of tradition and modernity. Companies like Biolan in Finland are developing enhanced peat products that combine limited amounts of harvested peat with biochar and other organic materials to create fuel briquettes with improved combustion efficiency and reduced emissions profiles. While still carbon-positive, these hybrid approaches potentially offer transitional solutions as countries work toward renewable alternatives.
Navigating the Transition
As nations navigate the competing demands of climate commitments and energy security, peat sits at this uncomfortable intersection—a carbon-rich resource being reconsidered despite its known environmental impacts. The decisions about this ancient fuel source in the coming months may set important precedents for how countries balance immediate energy needs against long-term climate goals.
The peat resurgence highlights a broader challenge in climate policy: the difficulty of maintaining environmental commitments during energy crises. What was once considered settled policy—the gradual phase-out of peat extraction—has been rapidly reconsidered when energy security concerns intensified. This pattern raises questions about other climate commitments' resilience during geopolitical or economic stress periods.
Looking forward, the most promising approaches may involve explicitly acknowledging these tensions rather than unsustainable rhetorical commitments. Some countries are exploring regulatory frameworks that permit limited peat extraction while mandating proportional investments in peatland restoration elsewhere. Others are establishing sunset provisions that allow temporary increases in peat harvesting while legally binding themselves to more aggressive phase-out timelines once the immediate crisis subsides.
It remains clear that peat, this ancient, carbon-rich material that has heated homes for millennia, now finds itself at the center of thoroughly modern dilemmas about energy security, climate change, and the complex trade-offs societies must navigate in an increasingly unpredictable world.