<P> Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses is an element of a post-Ice Age peat bog that straddles the England--Wales border and contains many rare plant and animal species due to the acidic environment created by the peat . Only lightly hand - dug, it is now a national nature reserve and is being restored to its natural condition . </P> <P> The climate, geography, and environment of Finland favours bog and peat bog formation . Thus, peat is available in considerable quantities . This abundant resource (often mixed with wood at an average of 2.6%) is burned to produce heat and electricity . Peat provides around 6.2% of Finland's annual energy production, second only to Ireland . The contribution of peat to greenhouse gas emissions of Finland can exceed 10 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year--equal to the total emissions of all passenger - car traffic in Finland . </P> <P> Finland classifies peat as a slowly renewing biomass fuel . Peat producers in Finland often claim that peat is a special form of biofuel because of the relatively fast retake rate of released CO if the bog is not forested for the following 100 years . Also, agricultural and forestry - drained peat bogs actively release more CO annually than is released in peat energy production in Finland . The average regrowth rate of a single peat bog, however, is indeed slow, from 1,000 up to 5,000 years . Furthermore, it is a common practice to forest used peat bogs instead of giving them a chance to renew . This leads to lower levels of CO storage than the original peat bog . </P> <P> At 106 g CO / MJ, the carbon dioxide emissions of peat are higher than those of coal (at 94.6 g CO / MJ) and natural gas (at 56.1). According to one study, increasing the average amount of wood in the fuel mixture from the current 2.6% to 12.5% would take the emissions down to 93 g CO / MJ . That said, little effort is being made to achieve this . </P>

Why peat has to be dried out before it is used as a fuel