The first-science based protocol for the restoration of peatlands has been developed by Terra Motion Limited, a spinout from Nottingham University and ClimaFi Limited, a UK climate technology company.
The protocol puts the scientific approach at its core with a digital measurement, reporting and verification system (“dMRV”), that will in turn allow the issuance of verified carbon credits, creating a market mechanism which directly support peatland restoration.
“The Peatland Protocol represents the culmination of research undertaken at Nottingham University and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The result is that we now have incontrovertible evidence of a strong correlation between water table depth and C02 reduction, that can be measured accurately using satellite data, at scale,” said Dr. Andrew Sowter, CTO of Terra Motion.
Underlining the protocol’s reliability will be its adherence to the forthcoming principles being introduced by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative.
Peatlands are carbon “sinks” when in a pristine state and capable of absorbing over twice as much C02 as all the world’s forests, combined. However, 80% of peatlands are in a degraded state.
This has the opposite effect in terms of CO2 with peatlands actually emitting large quantities of the greenhouse gas. With 50 million hectares across the globe, peatlands are a critical piece of the puzzle of keeping global warming at bay.
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“The Peatland Protocol is a long overdue initiative that responds to the demand from land managers, project developers and carbon credit buyers for a rigorous science-based methodology to ensure the underlying integrity of credits derived from peatland restoration,” said Tim de Rosen, CEO of ClimaFi.
ClimaFi recently announced the start of its funding campaign on Seedrs with the goal of creating a carbon trading platform focused carbon credits generated by peatland restoration projects.
The protocol will be published on April 28, which will mark the beginning of a public consultation period until June 2. The final protocol is slated for publication on July 12.
Read more: UK Natural Carbon Sink – Peatlands Are Burning, Despite Government Ban
