A new voluntary certification, supported by Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund, aims to encourage financing for landowners to accelerate peatland restoration.
The Peatland Standard for Ireland will help restore Ireland’s peatland and boost climate resilience by allowing farmers and landowners to demonstrate the environmental benefit of their activities has launched for public consultation.
According to estimates, the restoration of the 700,000ha of degraded peatlands in the country could help to avoid up to 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
Most Irish bogs are degraded due to human activities. The new science-based certification creates a methodology to quantify improvements.
Dr. Shane Mc Guinness of Peatland Finance Ireland said: “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.
The development of the standard has been supported by a €495,000 commitment from Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund, as well as other funding areas.
Funding is also coming from 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).
Peatland restoration
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.
The public consultation on the Peatland Standard is open until December 5, seeking input from farmers and landowners, community networks, potential project developers, investors and the public.