The Durban Climate Summit has delivered an overall rather meager agreement. A positive outcome has though come forward to reduce emissions from peatlands, both in REDD+ from developing as under the Kyoto Protocolfor developed countries. Wetlands International celebrates this result.Peatlands represent 6% of global emissions and until now, no incentive existed under the UNFCCC for reduce these.

Ministers have agreed that in a follow up of the Kyoto Protocol, Annex I countries can account for their emissions from drained peatlands and can reduce these by rehabilitating drained areas. Under the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol these emissions were not accounted while they add up to half a billion tons of CO2 each year in developed countries. This is a level similar to that of forestry, but occurring on only 0,5% of the land surface of the developed countries. In the EU 43% of the emissions from cropland result from drainage of peatsoils, which cover 2% of their cropland area.

The agreement to account for emissions from drained peat soils is so far only voluntary. This seemed the most feasible in the negotiations, despite calls from a large number of countries and environmental groups for mandatory accounting to address the massive emissions.

Bad outcome for forests

The negotiations however also resulted in bad accounting rules under Kyoto for emissions from forests. The emissions due to logging and converting natural forests to plantations will escape rigorous accounting for their emissions. Countries can get away with developing plantation forests at  the account of their carbon rich natural forests.

Emissions from peatsoils in REDD+