Protect Peatlands

The report identifies peatland protection as an 'emergency brake' climate solution due to the high carbon density of these ecosystems, which store approximately 600 Gt of carbon. It estimates that protecting one hectare of peatland avoids between 0.92 and 13.47 t CO‚-eq/ha/yr, with the highest impact in tropical and subtropical regions. The net cost is estimated at US$1.5/ha/yr, or $0.25/t CO‚-eq avoided. While approximately 22% of global peatlands are in protected areas (PAs), the report suggests an achievable protection range of 70–90% of remaining undrained peatlands, which could reduce emissions by 1.3–1.7 Gt CO‚-eq/yr. The analysis emphasizes the critical role of Indigenous peoples' lands, which contain an additional 186 Mha of peatlands, and advocates for secure land tenure and community-led governance to ensure permanence and avoid leakage.

• Peatlands store an estimated 600 Gt of carbon, which is approximately 2,200 Gt CO‚-eq, a stock twice as large as that found in all forest biomass, despite occupying only 3–4% of the global land area.
• The effectiveness of peatland protection in avoiding emissions varies by biome, ranging from 0.92 t CO‚-eq/ha/yr in boreal regions to 13.47 t CO‚-eq/ha/yr in tropical regions.
• Current legal protection via protected areas (PAs) covers approximately 22% of the total global peatland area (482 Mha), with 22.6 Mha in strict PAs and 82.3 Mha in other or unknown PA classes.
• Indigenous peoples' lands contain 186 Mha of peatlands not classified as PAs, with 155 Mha located in boreal regions; including these areas would increase the current estimated impact of protection to 0.9 Gt CO‚-eq/yr.
• The technical upper limit for adoption (adoption ceiling) is estimated at 425 Mha of undrained, non-coastal peatlands, with the largest portion (284 Mha) in boreal regions.
• Peatland protection provides significant co-benefits, including the regulation of water flows to reduce drought and flood risks, a local cooling effect, and the prevention of peat fires that cause respiratory health issues and premature mortality.
• The rate of new peatland protection has declined over time, with a median annual increase of 1.7 Mha/yr between 2000 and 2010 falling to 0.7 Mha/yr between 2010 and 2020.

APA

Driscoll, A., Matthews, M., Swanson, C., & West, P. C. (2025). Protect Peatlands. Project Drawdown. https://drawdown.org/explorer/protect-peatlands

Chicago

Driscoll, Avery, Megan Matthews, Christina Swanson, and Paul C. West. Protect Peatlands. Project Drawdown, 2025. https://drawdown.org/explorer/protect-peatlands.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Driscoll |first1=Avery |last2=Matthews |first2=Megan |last3=Swanson |first3=Christina |last4=West |first4=Paul C. |title=Protect Peatlands |publisher=Project Drawdown |date=15 February 2025 |url=https://drawdown.org/explorer/protect-peatlands |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{driscoll2025protect, author = {Driscoll, Avery and Matthews, Megan and Swanson, Christina and West, Paul C.}, title = {{Protect Peatlands}}, institution = {Project Drawdown}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://drawdown.org/explorer/protect-peatlands}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }