News
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.