Net Zero and the peatland carbon frontier: contesting incentives for ecosystem restoration in Scotland’s Western Isles

Abstract

Peatlands have gained global political attention in recent years thanks to their capacity to store large quantities of carbon when in a healthy condition. To reach its ambitious target, Net Zero by 2045, the Scottish Government pledged to restore 250,000 hectares of its peatlands by 2030. Mobilising private finance is considered key to achieving this target. This paper critically assesses the need for ‘green’ finance in peatland restoration, asking how the progression of the ‘carbon frontier’–the commodification of nature’s services–into the Highlands and Islands is influencing the perception and management of, and relations with, peatlands, particularly on crofting land. Evidence was gathered during seven weeks of fieldwork in the Isle of Lewis, participation in a variety of stakeholder events, semi-structured interviews with representatives of key stakeholder groups, and through an extensive policy review. Conceptualising the carbon frontier along three interrelated dimensions, (i) carbon obsession, (ii) carbon rush, and (iii) carbon stewardship, we contribute to the critical global scholarship on revealing the multiple faultlines of the natural capital paradigm central to net-zero strategies.