Peatlands - climate champions or a source of emissions?

Natural peatlands, a type of wetland, store twice as much carbon as all of the world’s forests combined – and they do so on just three percent of the world’s land surface. But peatlands that have been drained – as has been done since the 17th century to create dry land for settlements, farming, and forestry – release that carbon back into the atmosphere. Brandenburg wants to rewet some of its drained peatlands for climate protection and biodiversity restoration. In the seventh episode of the RIFS podcast “Wandel verhandeln. Nachhaltig in Brandenburg” (Negotiating change. Sustainability in Brandenburg), we explore the potential and challenges of this plan.