Can coal phase-out provide a blueprint for rewetting of peatlands?

A new study in the journal ‘Land Use Policy’ scrutinized how the process of phasing-out coal might serve as a blueprint for rewetting agricultural used peatlands. The study was conducted by lead author Pia Sommer and her colleagues Sebastian Lakner (both University of Rostock), Anke Nordt, Franziska Tanneberger (both University of Greifswald) and Johannes Wegmann from the Thünen Institute for Rural Studies.

Greenhouse gas emissions from drained organic soils (‘peatlands’) account for around 7 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in Germany. Reducing emissions from these soils would make a significant contribution to achieving Germany's climate targets and the Paris Climate Agreement. Whether the coal phase-out can also be used as a blueprint for the rewetting of peatland soils was analysed and evaluated using the PESTLE categories (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal). Both, the coal phase-out and the rewetting of peatlands, represent a socio-technological transformation that requires political control. Based on the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of the rewetting of peatlands, a budget of between 13.6 and 16 billion euros was calculated for the rewetting of peatland, analogous to the coal phase-out.

Literature:
Sommer, Pia; Lakner, Sebastian; Nordt, Anke; Tanneberger, Franziska; Wegmann, Johannes (2024): Deriving a justified budget for peatland rewetting – Applying the German coal phase-out as a blueprint. In: Land Use Policy 147. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107363

Contact: Johannes Wegmann