Clone of Clone of Clone of Clone of Changes in peat field cultivation and peatland forest management support the achievement of the goals set in the Climate Act

The goal set in Finland’s Climate Act is to achieve carbon neutrality, meaning a situation where greenhouse gas emissions are equal to or smaller than removals, by 2035. By changing the processing of peatlands and adjusting water management, emissions reductions could be achieved cost-effectively without placing wood production and food security at risk.

The land use sector has turned from a sink into an emission source which makes it more difficult to achieve the Climate Act’s goal. Significant emissions reductions can be achieved in peat fields and peatland forests.

In the policy brief published in 2023, research scientists present three changes to control measures to achieve significant emissions reductions:

1. Paying farmers for investments in the re-wetting of peat fields and supporting paludiculture in the same way/with the same principles as other uses of fields. Removing subsidies from fields that are not harvested.

2. Supporting the development of markets for products based on paludiculture. This calls for support for research and development covering the entire value chain and the access of products onto markets.

3. Changing the forestry subsidy system to be independent of the forest regeneration method, providing training for forest contractors, and increasing information-based guidance for forest owners regarding continuous cover forestry.

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