The European Parliament has accepted a key biodiversity bill that will see the restoration of CO2-storing peatlands but has been criticized by farmers and other opposition groups due to fears they might lose land.
Key points
- The Nature Restoration Act was at the center of the EU’s biodiversity strategy, forming part of the bloc’s Green Deal approach to boost environmental protection and mitigate the effects of climate change.
- The bill will allow for 30% of all former peatlands currently exploited for agriculture to be restored and partially shifted to other use by the end of the decade, a figure rising to 70% by 2050.
- Farmers and conservative lawmakers in the European Union strongly opposed the landmark nature legislation that bolsters the bloc’s green transition and prevents vital ecosystems and species from being wiped out due to climate change.
Peatland
- Peatland, which is a type of wetland, forms over thousands of years from the remains of dead plants, storing more carbon than any other ecosystem.
- Globally, peatlands take up some 3% of the planet’s land area — and yet, they absorb nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as all the Earth’s forests combined.
- But when damp peatlands are drained and used for other purposes, like agriculture or fertilizer, they go from being a CO2 sink to yet another potent source of greenhouse gas.
