New Peatland Standard accelerates restoration and boosts Ireland’s climate resilience

A new voluntary certification that will help restore Ireland’s peatland and boost climate resilience by allowing farmers and landowners to demonstrate the environmental benefit of their activities has been launched for public consultation. According to estimates, the restoration of the 700,000 hectares of degraded peatlands in the country could help to avoid up to 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

The Peatland Standard for Ireland will help landowners attract funding to accelerate peatland revival. Those wishing to restore peatlands on their land will be able to fund their projects by offering verified ecosystem certificates encompassing carbon, biodiversity, and water benefits to organisations wanting to invest in and support conservation and sustainability initiatives.

Irish peatlands are waterlogged, carbon-rich habitats for diverse species that regulate water flow, quality, and flood risks. However, most Irish bogs are degraded due to human activities. The new science-based certification creates a methodology to quantify improvements across emission reductions, water storage and quality, biodiversity, ecosystem functions, community benefits, and wildfire prevention.

“The new Peatland Standard recognises the environmental, economic, and societal benefits from reviving these vital ecosystems,” said Dr Shane Mc Guinness of Peatland Finance Ireland.

“Quantifying the benefits of carbon, biodiversity, and water enhancements will unlock financing for community restoration work, which is only possible when funding comes from a diverse and blended range of sources. It is encouraging to see businesses, alongside national and European public bodies, providing blended financing to support positive environmental impact.”

The development of the Standard has been supported by a €495,000 commitment from Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund, as well as the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; and the Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF) of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

“Peatlands are vital stores of carbon, but their degraded state means they currently release over two million tonnes of greenhouse gases every year,” said John Boumphrey, Amazon’s UK and Ireland Country Manager. “We’re supporting the development of the Peatland Standard for Ireland because properly financing restoration projects can bring great benefits to both local communities and the broader environment.”

The Standard has been developed over the past 15 months and is now under public consultation with the expectation to go live early next year. It was developed by Peatland Finance Ireland, a not-for-profit supported by academic, not-for-profit, governmental, and semi-state bodies.

The work of Peatland Finance Ireland aligns with Ireland’s Climate Action Plan, which cites the potential of peatland restoration to reduce emissions through nature-based solutions. The certification will comply with international environmental principles and align with the EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Certification Framework. Independent third-party auditors, working to ISO standards, will validate and verify ecosystem improvement claims.