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COP 13 Global Peatland Fires & CO2 Emissions

COP 13 BALI. Speakers on global Peatlands CO2 emissions, resulting from logging of swamp forests, drainage of peatlands palm oil plantations and peatlands fires that produce 11% of global CO2 emissions annually.

Everyone knows about forests and deforestation for climate change and everyone is talking about it at this conference. To reduce the emissions from deforestation. Few people know about the emissions from peatlands; the material in swampy areas, where the plant materials fall in the water and oxygen low acidic water and remain there for hundreds and thousands of years. This peat is now having huge stocks of carbon. Globally, there is more carbon stored in peats than twice the amounts than what is stored in forests in the whole world which is seventy percent of the global atmosphere. If this is released, we have a real big problem. The bad news is that this peat is now rapidly decomposing and burning which is converted into carbon dioxide. We are facing a disaster.

Globally, 3000 Megatons of carbon from peats is released every year, which is 11% of the amount of all global fossil fuel emissions. And this amount is increasing rapidly, because, in many areas of the world, the swamp areas are drained to enable logging for the timber, to enable agriculture. Carbon in the peat with oxygen in the air is converted to Carbon Dioxide, which is taking place very rapidly, especially in the tropics.

He also discusses:

  • The cutting down of rainforests in Indonesia
  • Palm oil plantations

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