Peatlands as economic powerhouses and superheroes in the fight against the climate crisis

Peatlands are superheroes in the fight against the climate crisis. Although they only cover three percent of the global land area, they store twice as much carbon as the biomass of all the world's forests combined. In Germany, around 95 percent of peatlands are drained; they are responsible for around seven percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions. By rewetting drained peatlands, climate-damaging emissions can be avoided, making an important contribution to the fight against climate change.

Wet peatlands also play a vital role in nature’s water balance and serve as effective natural flood protection areas. Preserving and restoring these natural ecosystems is invaluable in the face of climate change.

Green treasure troves as economic powerhouses

By cultivating wet peatlands, known as paludiculture, renewable resources can be obtained and used for the manufacture of products such as paper, packaging, chipboard, furniture, construction and insulation materials. This opens up new perspectives for the economy while reducing dependence on fossil resources.

"The restoration and sustainable use of peatlands is of crucial importance for climate protection and the economy. As the Otto Group, together with our Group companies, we have been supporting the initiative toMOORow from the very beginning, which is committed to creating new, nature-friendly peatland habitats through rewetting and thus making a contribution to combating the climate crisis," says Prof. Dr. Tobias Wollermann, VP Corporate Responsibility of the Otto Group.

"In order for paludiculture to provide the necessary income potential for agriculture, market forces need to be activated. To this end, we have established the Alliance of Pioneers - an association of strong, innovative companies committed to building scalable value chains with paludiculture biomass. The aim is to secure economic potential and create sources of income for agriculture if the previous cultivation with grassland or arable farming is no longer possible after rewetting," adds Claudia Bühler, Director of the Michael Otto Foundation for Environmental Protection.

Further information on the importance of wet peatlands can be found at ottogroup.com.

Event note
On 30 April 2024, the launch event of the Alliance of Pioneers will take place in Berlin, hosted by the toMOORow initiative (Michael Otto Foundation for Environmental Protection and Michael Succow Foundation, partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre). Together with Federal Ministers Cem Özdemir and Steffi Lemke, the initiators of toMOORow Prof. Dr. Michael Otto and Prof. em. Dr. Michael Succow, the responsible persons of the toMOORow initiative, and high-profile representatives from the business and agricultural sectors, the opportunities and challenges of using paludiculture biomass in the economy will be discussed and concrete practical steps will be outlined.

Media representatives interested in attending the event should contact Claudia Bühler, Director of the Michael Otto Foundation for Environmental Protection, at +49 40 6461-6700 or claudia.buehler@umweltstiftungmichaelotto.org.