Launch of Peatland Breakthrough at COP31

Launched today at COP31, the Peatland Breakthrough is an urgent call to action to conserve, rewet and restore, and enable the sustainable use of the world's peatlands to enhance climate mitigation and adaptation, water security, biodiversity and people’s livelihoods.

Developed in close alignment with the Global Peatlands Initiative, the Peatland Breakthrough is a 2030 Climate Solution under the Marrakech Partnership. It is a collaborative effort to support large scale peatland action around the world built on existing science and knowledge. Its global targets for 2030 include:

• Halting the anthropogenic loss of undrained peatland;

• Ensuring at least 30 million hectares of degraded peatland are under rewetting and restoration; and

• Mobilizing at least US$100 billion for peatland action.

Four countries have joined the Peatland Breakthrough as Champion Countries: Germany, Ireland, Peru and Uganda, while Canada has endorsed it. Other countries are encouraged to endorse it, along with communities, companies, funders and NGOs.

Peatlands occur in almost every country. They cover 3–4% of the planet's land surface, yet hold nearly 30% of the world’s soil organic carbon. More than 50 million hectares of peatlands have been drained and degraded, and as a result they emit 2GT of CO₂e each year. Peatland rewetting and restoration could cut global emissions by 4–5% by 2050.

Eva Hernandez, Global Peatland Lead, Wetlands International - one of the core partners of the Peatland Breakthrough: “Peatlands are nature’s most overlooked and undervalued Climate Champions: investing in protecting and restoring them is one of the highest-impact climate solutions. The Peatland Breakthrough will mobilise funds for a nature-based solution that will bend the climate curve, enhance water security, and boost community and ecosystem resilience.”

For more information:
Richard Lee, Head of Communications, Wetlands International / Richard.lee@wetlands.org

Quotes from other Coalition partners:

Dianna Kopansky, Global Peatlands Initiative Coordinator, UNEP:
“At the heart of the Peatland Breakthrough is a simple principle: prevention comes first. Once peatlands are lost through drainage and conversion or degradation, the carbon accumulated over thousands of years cannot simply be replaced. While restoration and rewetting are proven solutions, avoiding new damage remains the most effective climate intervention.”

Amy Duchelle, Forests and Climate Team Leader at UN FAO:
“The Peatland Breakthrough is a welcome step for accelerated action on peatlands. Turning this ambition into lasting results will require reliable monitoring to understand where peatlands are, assess their condition and guide protection and restoration. Strengthening national capacities to collect and use these data will be essential to inform decisions and track progress on the ground.”

Jan Peters, Managing Director, Michael Succow Foundation, partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre (GMC):
“Through the Peatland Breakthrough, we have developed shared, science-based targets. Now we move to the next level: turning ambition into action on the ground to accelerate and scale up peatland solutions for the climate, biodiversity, water resilience and community livelihoods.”

About the Peatland Breakthrough
The Peatland Breakthrough is a collaborative effort to mobilize action to conserve, rewet and restore, and enable the sustainable, wise use of the world's peatlands in ways that maintain their essential functions to support climate goals, water security, biodiversity, and people's livelihoods. It is led by Wetlands International, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Greifswald Mire Centre, developed in close alignment with the Global Peatlands Initiative, and in collaboration with the Convention on Wetlands and the Marrakech Partnership.

Its growing list of partners includes: the Global Environment Centre, Landscape Finance Lab, RE-PEAT, and The Nature Conservancy.