A Severe Miss in Peatland Protection: State Audit Report Casts Doubt on Peatland Protection Strategy
Significant Failure in Achieving Peat Protection Goals, as Revealed by State Audit Office - Exceeded Moor Conservation Goals: Revealing the Beyond Adequate Land Preservation
In a hard-hitting annual report, the State Audit Office has bashed the peatland protection strategy drafted by Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus (SPD). The report reveals that the ambitious goal to rewet 49,000 hectares of drained peatlands by 2020 has been met a paltry 30 percent.
Drained peatlands: a climate change behemoth
Peatlands, with their seemingly swampy terrain, are indeed critical to our planet’s health. The decomposition of peat in these areas generates about 30 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the northern regions of the country. Wetting these previously drained bodies of land is a crucial step in mitigating climate change.
The report reveals that the strategy didn't account for this fact. The auditors criticized that Backhaus failed to compare the targets with the actual results and adjust accordingly to stay on track. "It was as clear as daylight in 2015 that the goals of the peatland protection concept would not be achievable following the chosen path," the report reads.
Where is the State Climate Protection Act?
In response to the scathing critique, the Ministry of Agriculture revealed an array of measures to pick up the pace of rewetting in the future. These measures include increased funding, additional staff for water and soil associations, and state offices for agriculture and the environment.
The State Audit Office emphasizes the urgency of finalizing the State Climate Protection Act. The red-red coalition had promised such a law in the 2021 coalition agreement, and with the legislative period winding down in about a year, a delay could prove detrimental.
"We're keeping our fingers crossed that it will still be completed by then," states Corinna Cwielag, the managing director of the Federal Association for Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) in the state.
Insights:
- Germany’s federal climate change legislation aims for a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and a target of climate neutrality (net zero emissions) by 2045.
- The country is currently on track to meet its 2030 emissions reduction goals, but faces challenges in certain sectors like construction and transport, which have not met their 2024 targets.
- Government advisers warn that post-2030 targets are at risk due to forests and wetlands losing their capacity as carbon sinks.
- Recent court decisions in Germany have led to increased climate litigation against companies, paving the way for holding large emitters accountable for climate damages.
In the spirit of clarity and succinctness:
- To achieve the necessary “rewetting speed,” the Ministry of Agriculture will allocate more funds and additional staff for water and soil associations and state offices for agriculture and the environment.
- A strategic foundation will be laid with the proposed State Climate Protection Act, a catalog of climate protection measures, and a peatland and land use strategy.
- The State Audit Office urges the completion of the State Climate Protection Act, as it was a promised provision in the 2021 coalition agreement with a legislative deadline looming.
- The Ministry of Agriculture plans to accelerate the rewetting process by allocating more funds and adding additional staff to water and soil associations and state offices for agriculture and the environment, forming a strategic foundation.
- The State Climate Protection Act, a promised provision in the 2021 coalition agreement, needs to be finalized to provide a catalog of climate protection measures and a peatland and land use strategy, as urged by the State Audit Office.
- The minutes of the State Audit Office's report reveal that a strategic comparison between targets and actual results is essential for remaining on track to mitigate climate change, as was evident in the peatland protection strategy. This emphasizes the significance of scientific, environmental-science, and policy-and-legislation developments in the context of climate-change, general-news, politics, and policy preparation.
