In a boost to the world’s peatlands, a new global initiative was announced at the Convention on Wetlands COP15 in Victoria Falls – the Peatland Breakthrough.

Speaking at a side event hosted by the Peruvian government and UNEP/Global Peatlands Initiative, Wetlands International East Africa Director, Julie Mulonga, highlighted how the initiative will help to unlock the power of peatlands for people, nature and climate.  

“Long undervalued and overlooked, healthy peatlands are Climate Champions – central to climate mitigation and adaptation,” said Mulonga. “We are proud to be one of the leading organizations behind the Peatland Breakthrough, which we believe will accelerate efforts to protect and restore these priceless wetlands – and benefit local communities, countless species and the global climate.” 

Healthy peatlands are central to climate mitigation as they store up to one-third of the world’s soil carbon — double the carbon found in the world’s forest biomass. However, the widespread degradation of peatlands has turned many of them from carbon sinks into major emitters, contributing to around 5% of all global GHG emissions —more than the aviation and shipping sectors combined. 

But healthy peatlands are also key to boosting climate adaptation and resilience by regulating water flows and so reducing the impacts of extreme floods and droughts. 

They also sustain the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and harbour rich biodiversity, including iconic, endangered species like orangutans. But across the globe, peatlands are at risk. Between 12% to 15% of peatlands have already been drained, primarily for agriculture and forestry. The world urgently needs to increase investment and accelerate action on peatlands – which is why the Peatlands Breakthrough is so important. 

“Investing in peatlands is one of the highest-impact climate solutions available today. Peatlands store more carbon than all the world’s forests’ biomass combined, yet they receive only a fraction of global climate finance,” said Eva Hernandez, Global Peatland Lead, Wetlands International. 

“Supporting the Peatland Breakthrough is not only scientifically sound—it’s economically smart and morally urgent. It’s a chance to fund something that truly bends the climate curve, enhances community and ecosystem resilience, while safeguarding our natural heritage,” added Hernandez. 

The Peatland Breakthrough is a collaborative effort led by Wetlands International, UNEP, FAO, the Global Environment Centre and the Greifswald Mire Centre (GMC), Landscape Finance Lab, RE-PEAT and TNC – in collaboration with the High-Level Climate Champions Team, the Convention on Wetlands, and the Global Peatlands Initiative. 

“Peatlands are superheroes of nature – but often overlooked. Their power lies under the surface and is not visible at first glance,” said Jan Peters, Director, Michael Succow Foundation, which is a Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre. 

“Peat acts like a sponge keeping water in the landscape, like a storehouse for carbon, and as basis for growth and wellbeing of magnificent animal and plant species. They also provide a lot of support for our human societies – from local to global level. That’s why we need a strong Peatland Breakthrough now!”   

And in a big early boost to the Peatland Breakthrough, the Government of Peru committed to become the first Champion Country for the initiative.  

To reach the Paris Agreement goals on mitigation and adaptation, drained peatlands must be restored and rewetted to enhance resilience and reduce emissions and the remaining peatland carbon sinks conserved. Hence, stopping further drainage is not sufficient (“turn the tap off”). We need to urgently – and in parallel – restore and rewet peatlands to reduce the warming effect of cumulative CO2 emissions (“open the plughole”). 

Achieving this requires mobilizing national and international stakeholders and resources that only a Breakthrough can catapult – since we need to restore millions of hectares of peatlands annually by 2050 and drive systemic change in land use, including value chains. 

The Breakthrough aims to unite public and private stakeholders around shared goals to deliver large-scale land-use change to safeguard and restore peatlands worldwide, which includes a pipeline of landscape scale peatland restoration projects. 

“For years, peatlands have been neglected, but momentum is building now,” said Hernandez. “Our vision is to shift peatlands from a climate liability to a climate ally. The Peatland Breakthrough’s inclusion of key land-use stakeholders and global perspective distinguishes it from previous efforts and will be crucial to its success. This is the moment to highlight peatlands as part of the solution for a resilient 1.5°C planet by 2050.”