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Germany joins the Peatland Breakthrough

Germany joins as Champion country

18/11/2025  Across two high-level COP30 official side events in Belém, the Peatland Breakthrough took a major step forward by launching its Science-Based Framework for Global Peatland Targets and Guiding Principles—a milestone that sets clear global goals to protect one of the planet’s most powerful natural climate buffers. The launch also marked the official opening of the endorsement process, inviting governments and non-state actors to join the growing international coalition.

A key highlight of this COP30 for peatlands was Germany’s announcement that it is joining the Peatland Breakthrough as a Champion Country, reinforcing global momentum for peatland protection. Germany joins Peru and Uganda in leading efforts to align national action with the new science-based targets.

Peatlands cover just 3–4% of Earth’s land surface but store up to one-third of global soil carbon—twice as much as all the world’s forest biomass. Yet degraded peatlands contribute 4–5% of annual human-made emissions. The new Framework aims to reverse this trend through coordinated global policy, investment, and implementation.

Jochen Flasbarth, the German State Secretary for the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, emphasised the urgency of taking action to reach the country's net-zero target by 2045:

“In Germany we drained 95% of our peatlands, and today we see the consequences. Peatlands now account for 7.5% of our national greenhouse-gas emissions, which makes restoring them one of our biggest challenges — and essential to reach our 2045 net-zero target. Rewetting is the way to stop emissions from drained peatlands, and in the future rewetted areas may even contribute to negative emissions. This is why Germany is investing billions in rewetting and why we are working closely with partners around the world, from Eastern Africa to Patagonia, to accelerate peatland restoration.”

Coenraad Krijger (CEO of Wetlands International) and Jochen Flasbarth (State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany) with the letter announcing Germany will be the newest Champion Country of the Peatland Breakthrough. © Peatland Breakthrough

With the launch in Belém, partners set the stage for the official global rollout of the Peatland Breakthrough in 2026 and called on countries and organizations worldwide to endorse the new targets and join the effort to unlock the full climate potential of peatlands.

You can find the full story in the links below:

• The Peatland Breakthrough Launches Science-Based Global Targets and Opens Call to Join
• Germany joins the Peatland Breakthrough as a Champion Country

About the Peatland Breakthrough

The Peatland Breakthrough is a global call to action led by Wetlands International, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Greifswald Mire Centre, developed in close alignment with the Global Peatlands Initiative, and in collaboration with the Convention on Wetlands. The growing list of partners include: Global Environment Centre, Landscape Finance Lab, RE-PEAT, and The Nature Conservancy.

COP30 is a chance for peatlands

We are taking it at these events

15/11/2025 Trying to make maximum impact for peatlands at COP30 in Brazil with Franziska Tanneberger, co-director of the Greifswald Mire Centre, on the ground at these events:

17.11. Security from the Ground Up: Soils and the Foundations of Resilience
This high-level session will explore how land restoration, soil governance, and ecosystem recovery (e.g. peatland rewetting) can advance climate resilience, post-war reconstruction for example in Ukraine, and regional stability — building security from the ground up.
🗓️ Monday, 17th November 2025, 10:30-12:00 a.m. (local time in Belém), 14:30 (CET)
📍  Ukraine Pavilion
👉 More info: Security from the Ground Up: Soils and the Foundations of Resilience

17.11.: Mainstreaming NBS for climate resilience in EAC
The side event showcases how East Africa is advancing climate-resilient development through Nature-based Solutions—from large-scale landscape restoration to sustainable peatland management—while strengthening regional cooperation and highlighting pathways for partnership financing and policy integration.
📆 Monday, 17th November 2025, 11-12:30 (local time in Belém),15 (CET)
📍 EAC Pavilion C-72

17.11. The Peatland Breakthrough: From Evidence to Action
Together, we’ll explore how evidence-based action can accelerate peatland conservation, restoration and sustainable use as essential pathways for climate mitigation, biodiversity protection and resilient communities.
🗓️ Monday, 17th November 2025, 14:30–15:30 (local time in Belém), 18:30 (CET)
📍  Nature Hub Pavilion, Blue Zone
👉 Register: The Peatland Breakthrough: From Evidence to Action

17.11. Peatland Breakthrough
This event will explore how the Peatland Breakthrough is catalyzing global action, and uniting countries, communities, and companies to restore and protect one of the world’s most carbon-dense ecosystems: peatlands
📆 Monday, 17th November 2025, 18:30—20:00 (local time in Belém), 22:30 (CET)
📍 Side Event Room 1, Blue Zone
👉 Register: PEATLAND BREAKTHROUGH: A Global Call to Unlock the Power of Peatlands
💚 Livestreaming available for COP30 virtual-only registered participants

20.11.: Nature-based Climate Action as a Key Instrument for achieving Germany's Climate Target
The side event presents the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Board for Germany’s Nature-based Climate Action (WBNK) for the further development of the Action Plan. The event will particularly focus on peatland restoration and rewetting on different continents.
🗓️ Thursday, 20th November 2025, 10:15-11:15 (local time in Belém) 2:15 p.m. (CET)
📍  German Pavilion
👉  More info: https://german-climate-pavilion.de/?pgm=124&nav=14&language=eng&tz=America%2FBelem

21.11.: Signing Joint Declaration between International Tropical Peatland Centre and Greifswald Mire Centre

🗓️ Friday, 21st November 2025, 10:15-11:15 (GMT-3)
📍  Indonesia Pavilion Open Stage, Blue Zone
👉  More info: https://www.tropicalpeatlands.org/event/signing-joint-declaration-between-itpc-and-greifswald-mire-centre-germany

21.11.: Integrating Peatland Restoration and FOLU within the Global Carbon Market Framework
Tropical peatlands play a critical role in global climate regulation as long-term carbon reservoirs. Nevertheless, their contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation is increasingly threatened by degradation, insufficient financial support, and uncertainties in emerging carbon market mechanisms.
🗓️ Friday, 21st November 2025, 15:50–16:20 (GMT-3)
📍  Indonesia Pavilion Main Stage, Blue Zone
👉  More info: https://www.tropicalpeatlands.org/event/integrating-peatland-restoration-and-folu-within-the-global-carbon-market-framework

All events at #COP30 📍Belém, Brazil (CET-4)

New: Eddy tower on peat moss

for accurate greenhouse gas emissions

14/11/2025   A brand new eddy covariance tower has recently been installed on one of the pilot sites in the MOOSland project. It continuously records CO₂ and methane fluxes across the entire area, including causeways, ditches and peat mosses. Over the next eight years, scientists want to use it to measure how climate-friendly a peat moss paludiculture is.

The ‘Eddy’ took a day and three people to set it up, plus a lot of preparatory work, of course, such as testing the equipment in the laboratory, laying power cables to the site and building a rudimentary platform out of planks. The tripod was built up within four hours on site. Then, electrical boxes and data loggers were attached to the tower. These are responsible for communication between the instruments, including CO₂ and methane sensors, a camera, a pressure gauge and a router for data transmission to the outside world. Each instrument has its own IP address for remote access. This not only enables the instruments to be accessed, but also controlled – a special feature of this Eddy tower that goes beyond the standard. The following day, only a little fine-tuning was needed to optimise the angles, distances and alignment of the sensors. Now the ‘Eddy’ is up and running, and the scientists expect to receive the first evaluations in about a month.

Why it matters: The collected data provides a reliable basis for policymakers, businesses and researchers to assess and optimise the climate impact of peat moss paludiculture. Further insights in the set up can be seen in this video (in German).

What's, when it's wet

New lecture series

05/11/2025  In the six-part public lecture series ‘Neue Moorlandschaften“ (German only), researchers report on how new ecosystems are emerging from drained areas, how they function – and what opportunities they offer. The lecture series accompanies the WETSCAPES2.0 Collaborative Research Centre at the University of Greifswald, which is researching how rewetted fens function.

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kreyling, spokesperson for WETSCAPES2.0, will kick off the series with his lecture ‘Moorlandschaften 2.0 – Was ist das und wie funktionieren sie?’ (Peatlands 2.0 – What are they and how do they work?).
Monday, 10 November 2025, 6 p.m.
Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg, Martin-Luther-Straße 14, Greifswald
Online participation possible via the college's digital lecture hall

Further information and dates:
https://www.wiko-greifswald.de/programm/vortraege/vortragsreihen-im-sommersemester-2025/wetscapes-20/

The Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio 410 WETSCAPES 2.0 is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and supported by the University of Greifswald and the University of Rostock.