News

01/06/2023 No fun facts: The organic soils of Germany's five most peatland-rich federal states emit more than their forested areas sequester - a total of 13.4 million t CO₂ eq. goes into the atmosphere each year instead of into a sink. In a comparison of the German states, Lower Saxony has the highest emissions from drained peat soils, with 18 million t CO₂ eq. per year. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, these make up the largest share of the state's total emissions, at 39%. Our new briefing paper succinctly summarizes the role organic soils play in greenhouse gas emissions in the five most peatland-rich German states. The good news here is that peatlands hold great climate protection potential! The picture can be changed enormously if we stop draining the peatlands. What exactly can be done to make faster progress with this can be read in more detail in the new GMC paper "Obstacles and Solutions for Accelerated Planning and Approval of Peatland Climate Protection - Results of a Stocktaking in the Peatland-Rich German States". It addresses land availability, planning and procedures, conflicting goals, capacity and specialized knowledge, and funding. For the inventory, the authors conducted 45 interviews with representatives from implementation projects and other authorities.