Strengthening peatland emissions monitoring: New FAO report updates factors, points out data gaps
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released the Peat-Emit report, "Supporting Developing Economies to Estimate and Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Organic Soils," on July 31, 2026
The report was developed under the Peat-Emit project, implemented jointly with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology through the AIM4Forests programme
It updates emission factors for carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide released per hectare of organic soil under different land-use and drainage conditions
The report compiled 560 emissions and removals data points from developing countries, about 45% more evidence than the 2013 IPCC Wetlands Supplement, while flagging major regional data gaps in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia outside Southeast Asia
Peatlands and Global Carbon Storage
Peatlands are wetland ecosystems where waterlogged, anaerobic conditions slow the decomposition of plant matter, causing partially decayed organic material (peat) to accumulate over centuries. Because decomposition is suppressed, peatlands lock in carbon that would otherwise be released as CO2, making them one of the most carbon-dense terrestrial ecosystems on Earth.
Key Details
- Peatlands cover only about 3-4% of the world's land surface but store an estimated 450-650 gigatonnes of soil organic carbon — roughly twice the carbon stored in all forest biomass combined
- Carbon is stored at densities of 500-2,000+ tonnes per hectare in the peat layer
- Drainage for agriculture, plantations, or mining exposes peat to oxygen, triggering rapid oxidation and turning peatlands from carbon sinks into major CO2 sources
- India has high-altitude peat bogs in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand — small in global scale but locally significant for water storage and carbon
The Peat-Emit report's updated emission factors quantify precisely how much CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide are released when such organic soils are drained, directly affecting how countries — including India — estimate their national GHG inventories from land-use change.
IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement — the Prior Methodological Baseline
The "2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands" is the methodological baseline the new FAO report builds upon and supersedes with fresh evidence. It was adopted at the IPCC's 37th Session (Batumi, Georgia, October 2013) and provided the first standardized emission factors for drained and rewetted organic soils, distinguishing on-site emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) from off-site emissions via waterborne dissolved organic carbon export.
Key Details
- Countries use IPCC Guidelines (2006, updated by the 2013 Wetlands Supplement and the 2019 Refinement) to compile their National GHG Inventories submitted under the UNFCCC
- The Peat-Emit report's 560 new data points represent a 45% increase in developing-country evidence over this 2013 baseline, improving Tier 2/Tier 3 emission factor accuracy for tropical and subtropical peatlands
- Emission factor "tiers" range from Tier 1 (default global factors, least data-intensive) to Tier 3 (country-specific, most accurate) — better data allows developing countries to move up tiers
The FAO report explicitly targets developing countries with historically sparse peatland data (concentrated evidence exists only for Southeast Asia), enabling more accurate Tier 2/3 reporting in their Biennial Transparency Reports under the Paris Agreement's Enhanced Transparency Framework.
National GHG Inventories and the Paris Agreement's Enhanced Transparency Framework
Under Article 13 of the Paris Agreement (2015), all parties must submit Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) containing National GHG Inventories, using IPCC methodologies. Accurate emission factors for land-use categories like organic soils are essential inputs, since land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) is a major and often poorly quantified sector in developing-country inventories.
Key Details
- The Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) became operational from 2024, with the first BTRs due by end of 2024 under the Paris Agreement's rulebook (Katowice, COP24, 2018)
- Peatland drainage and degradation are typically reported under the LULUCF/AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use) sector of national inventories
- Poor data quality on organic soils has historically forced many developing countries to rely on generic Tier 1 default factors, understating or overstating actual emissions
Better emission factors from Peat-Emit directly feed into more credible BTR submissions, strengthening the evidentiary basis for peatland-inclusive Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and access to international climate finance for peatland restoration.
- Peat-Emit report released: July 31, 2026, by FAO with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology under the AIM4Forests programme
- 560 emissions/removals data points compiled from developing countries — ~45% more evidence than the 2013 IPCC Wetlands Supplement
- Peatlands: 3-4% of global land area; store ~450-650 gigatonnes of soil organic carbon (~30% of global soil organic carbon), nearly double all forest biomass carbon
- Data gaps identified: Africa, Latin America, and non-Southeast Asian parts of Asia remain underrepresented; cool-climate peatlands outside Europe/North America are also poorly documented
- Key findings: drained organic soils confirmed as major CO2 sources; fertilized peatlands emit more N2O than earlier estimates; peat-fire methane emissions may be lower than previously assumed; water table depth is a key control on emissions
- Four FAO recommendations: expand field measurements, improve methodologies, strengthen data sharing, invest in long-term monitoring