UNFCCC Cop 21Paris

Peatlands and GHG emissions

A global overview

UNFCCC Nordic Pavillion2 December 2015

Peatlands around the worldPeatlands store twice more carbon than forests

• 400 million ha peatlands world wide• 15% (50 million ha) drained and degrading, causing CO2 emissions

Key Parties with emissions (without fires) from drained organic soils

December 2, 2015

Emissions from peatlands per country Indication of which countries contribute most to global peatland emissions

and where it is most urgent to undertake peatland rewetting action

Nordic Pavillion

Emissions from peatlands per unit national land area (in tCO2e/km2)

indicating where peatland emissions are most relevant for land use policies

UNFCCC Nordic pavillion

December 2, 2015

Peatland emissions as % of national fossil fuel and cement emissions

indicating the importance of peatlands for national climate policies

UNFCCC Nordic pavillion

December 2, 2015

In Indonesia 50% of GHG emissions are from peatlands covering only 6% of agricultural land

Degrading peatlands are disproportionally large emitters

In the European Union, 75% of agricultural GHG emissions are derived from peatlands covering only 2% of the agricultural area

peatlands deforestation

UNFCCC Nordic pavillion

December 2, 2015

• 25 countries together responsible for 95% of global emissions from peatland drainage, excluding fires. Fires raise the importance of particularly Indonesia and Russian

Federation

• For many countries emissions from peatland degradation are over 50% of emissions from fossil fuels & cement production combined

• Most are developing countries in Africa, Asia and the America’s

• But this list also includes 7 European countries, all Annex-I.

• In an additional 25 countries emissions from peatlands equal 10-50% of the emissions from fossil fuels and cement.

Facts from the Peatland Hotspot Maps:

UNFCCC Nordic pavillion

December 2, 2015

Hotspot analysis of degraded peatlandsAn online Global Peatland Hotspot Atlas International collaboration for targeted finance

Capacity building and upscaling Large scale implementation via major programmes

Roadmap to accelerate action for peatland restoration

Wetlands International is starting a global programme for peatland restoration for climate change mitigation with CBD, UNCCD and Ramsar Convention

UNFCCC Nordic pavillion

December 2, 2015

We need to start a paradigm shift from unsustainable practices to Net Positive

ImpactMore information on

www.wetlands.org

Thank y u