Closing the emissions gap with peatlands

The 18^th conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) takes place against a backdrop of mounting evidence that time is running out to avert dangerous climate change. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recently highlighted¹ the large gap between current greenhouse gas emissions levels and reduction commitments, and the emissions reductions needed to effectively limit global warming to less than 2°C.

Another recent report by the World Bank² argues that the world is on the way to a 4°C increase in average temperatures, and that the consequences will be ”cataclysmic”, ranging from rising sea levels to threatened food security.

Degrading peatlands cover only 0.3% of the Earth’s surface, but they are responsible for almost 6% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Mitigating these emissions would make a significant contribution to closing the emissions gap.
 

1.    UNEP’s “The Emissions Gap Report 2012” can be found at: http://www.unep.org/publications/ebooks/emissionsgap2012/
2.    The World Bank report “Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided” can be found at: http://climatechange.worldbank.org/content/climate-change-report-warns-dramatically-warmer-world-century