The NRL finals begin! On 5 October 2023, the first Trilogue on the Nature Restoration Law in Brussels begins. We need strict and binding targets for the restoration of peatlands and ensure a level of ambition in line with the overarching international climate and biodiversity commitments of the EU and preventing loopholes granted to Member States.

The largest conference of peatland experts ever held took place in Antwerp in September 2023. The conference united 547 attendants on site, and around 140 online. People joined from 29 European countries, and additionally from 17 countries from outside Europe. At this conference, a declaration to Empower nature, climate and future now! was agreed and calls for joint urgent action to safeguard peatlands in Europe, on behalf of more than 90 signatories, representing EU funded projects, scientists, non-governmental organisations, land managers, etc.

The organising committee stresses that a huge opportunity currently exists to align with the findings of the conference and to comprehensively restore Europe's peatlands, thus reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions and improving biodiversity in a very significant way.

We are asking all decision makers to ensure that adequate targets for the restoration of all peatlands are included in the final version of the Nature Restoration Law.

This entails:

1. adopting strict binding targets for the restoration of peatlands (under Articles 4 and 9.4),
2. recognising that rewetting is a prerequisite to peatland restoration,
3. adopting a level of ambition in line with the overarching international climate and biodiversity commitments of the EU (more information can be found in this policy brief "Higher ambition for Peatlands in the EU Nature Restoration Law Proposal"), and preventing loopholes granted to Member States.

Healthy peatlands play an indispensable role in tackling climate change and represent biodiversity havens and are part of our culture as historic landscapes. Healthy peatlands curb GHG emissions, mitigate flood, drought and fire risks and improve water quality. However, more than 50% of EU's peatlands are degraded and require urgent restoration action.