ASTANA, September 29 — Peatlands, covering approximately 3% of Earth’s land, are estimated to store an estimated 550 gigatons of carbon, according to data from the International Peatland Society and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This carbon accumulation results from waterlogged conditions that slow organic decomposition, allowing peat to build over millennia. In the United Kingdom, peatlands store about 3.2 billion tons of carbon, equivalent to roughly nine times the country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
In Indonesia, peatlands hold an estimated 55 gigatons of carbon, but drainage for palm oil and pulpwood plantations has released approximately 1.8 gigatons of CO2 annually since the 1990s, significantly contributing to global emissions. The Congo Basin peatlands, discovered in 2017 and mapped in detail by 2019, store about 30 gigatons of carbon — equivalent to three years of global fossil fuel emissions — and remain largely intact due to their remote location.
The 2015 Paris Agreement recognizes the importance of conserving and enhancing greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs, including peatlands, under Article 5. The UK government launched the England Peat Action Plan in May 2021, aiming to restore 35,000 hectares of degraded peatland by 2025, backed by over £50 million (about US$62 million) in public funding. The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027 includes eco-schemes that reward farmers for maintaining peatland habitats, with specific measures targeting rewetting and paludiculture.
In the United States, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) estimates that peatlands in Alaska and the northern contiguous states store over 15 gigatons of carbon, though comprehensive national mapping remains incomplete. Scientists from the University of Leeds and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) warn that draining just 15% of global peatlands could release carbon equivalent to 1.5 years of global CO2 emissions.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, ratified by 172 countries as of 2023, designates peatlands as wetlands of international importance when they meet ecological criteria, with over 1,200 peatland sites listed globally. Protection efforts face challenges from agricultural expansion, peat extraction for horticulture, and infrastructure development, particularly in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.
Climate models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), published in 2021, indicate that preventing peatland degradation is among the most cost-effective nature-based solutions for climate mitigation, with potential avoided emissions of up to 0.8 gigatons of CO2 per year by 2050 if current degradation rates are halved. Looking ahead, monitoring implementation of national peatland strategies and international funding mechanisms will be critical to determining whether these ecosystems can fulfill their role in long-term carbon stewardship.
