New support programme could become “game changer” for peatland rewetting in Germany – NGOs

Environmental umbrella organisation DNR has urged the German government to double down on its peatland rewetting efforts, arguing that a new EU-approved support programme worth 1.3 billion euros could become a “game changer” for one of the country’s key emissions reduction strategies. 

“The comprehensive and fast rewetting of drained peatlands is one of the most effective levers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in land use,” said DNR executive manager Florian Schöne. Drained peatlands release “enormous amounts of CO₂,” Schöne said, while wet moorlands could be “a natural ally in the fight against climate change.” Currently, about 90 percent of Germany’s peatlands are drained.

Besides storing carbon, peatlands act as a water store during droughts and provide an important refuge for many species. “Efforts to protect them lag far behind what is necessary,” Schöne argued. The new support programme therefore has to be implemented quickly and in a targeted fashion, he added. 

Agriculture minister Alois Rainer, who oversees peatland protection under the programme for rewetting of farmed peatlands, said total support would amount to 1.75 billion euros by the end of 2029. The rewetting should also serve as the foundation for new business models in rural areas, the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) minister said. 

“This is a huge opportunity for our forestry and agriculture sectors,” Rainer argued. Cultivating plants like reed or breeding animals like water buffalos could open new income streams for farmers, he said. “I regard it as the government’s duty to make offers to farmers that allow climate action to be profitable,” the minister added. 

In its recent Climate Action Programme, the government decided to “massively increase” support for nature-based climate action, with an additional 4.7 billion euros state funding for measures in the land use sector (LULUCF – land use and land use change). The sector has been a net emitter of greenhouse gases. 

Most emissions in the sector originate from organic soils, primarily from drained peatlands. Rewetting peatlands therefore remains the key method for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the LULUCF sector. By 2030, land use and forestry (LULUCF) should have net-negative emissions at minus 25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2 eq), according to the Climate Action Law.