Even if peatland degradation ended today, degraded peatlands could continue emitting roughly 1.9 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) per year for decades to centuries, because, unlike forests, peatlands store carbon primarily within their waterlogged soils rather than in aboveground vegetation. Carbon and nitrogen losses following land-use changes are not immediate and continue until the soil is rewetted or all peat is lost. The efficacy of restoring peatlands to avoid these greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, however, will depend in part on what form of degradation the wetland ecosystems experienced (e.g., drainage, burning, or cutting). Rewetting peatlands drained by agriculture, for example, can significantly reduce or even halt carbon losses, as well as enable carbon sequestration. Because drained peatlands will emit carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide for up to hundreds of years, restoring these ecosystems’ water tables should occur as quickly as possible to maximize avoided GHG emissions.  
Although data is insufficient to assess global progress made in restoring peatlands, available evidence suggests that current efforts are occurring, but likely not at the pace and scale required across many countries. From 2010 to 2013, for example, the Russian government implemented one of the largest-scale peatland rewetting projects in the Northern Hemisphere across more than 73,000 hectares (ha) near Moscow; during the early 2000s, Germany rewetted more than 20,000 ha of peatlands in one of its northeastern states; and Indonesia reported that it restored just over 300,000 ha in 2021 and more than 240,000 ha in 2022. 

Even if peatland degradation ended today, degraded peatlands could continue emitting roughly 1.9 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) per year for decades to centuries, because, unlike forests, peatlands store carbon primarily within their waterlogged soils rather than in aboveground vegetation. Carbon and nitrogen losses following land-use changes are not immediate and continue until the soil is rewetted or all peat is lost. The efficacy of restoring peatlands to avoid these greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, however, will depend in part on what form of degradation the wetland ecosystems experienced (e.g., drainage, burning, or cutting). Rewetting peatlands drained by agriculture, for example, can significantly reduce or even halt carbon losses, as well as enable carbon sequestration. Because drained peatlands will emit carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide for up to hundreds of years, restoring these ecosystems’ water tables should occur as quickly as possible to maximize avoided GHG emissions.  
Although data is insufficient to assess global progress made in restoring peatlands, available evidence suggests that current efforts are occurring, but likely not at the pace and scale required across many countries. From 2010 to 2013, for example, the Russian government implemented one of the largest-scale peatland rewetting projects in the Northern Hemisphere across more than 73,000 hectares (ha) near Moscow; during the early 2000s, Germany rewetted more than 20,000 ha of peatlands in one of its northeastern states; and Indonesia reported that it restored just over 300,000 ha in 2021 and more than 240,000 ha in 2022.