At the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP30, there was a significant focus for nature-based solutions through the launch of the Science-Based Framework for Global Peatland Targets and Guiding Principles, a central component of the upcoming Peatland Breakthrough, which will be formally launched in the Spring of 2026. This global initiative aims to accelerate efforts to conserve, restore, and promote the sustainable, wise use of peatlands, recognising their crucial role in climate mitigation, adaptation, biodiversity protection, and community resilience. The framework aims to further how societies interact with peatlands while aligning global action with the Paris Agreement, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. It also builds on the findings of the Global Peatlands Assessment (GPA) and establishes a pathway for measurable climate and ecosystem benefits.

The framework sets out three core targets to be achieved by 2030:

1. Halting the anthropogenic loss of undrained peatlands, which currently cover around 430 million hectares. Preserving these intact ecosystems is identified as the most urgent and cost-effective climate action for peatlands.
2. Rewetting and restoring at least 30 million hectares, targeting the cessation of ongoing emissions estimated at around 2 Gt CO₂e annually while restoring hydrological, ecological, and biodiversity functions.
3. Developing enabling conditions for sustainable, wise use by 2030, with full implementation across all peatlands by 2050. This target emphasises inclusive stewardship, benefit-sharing, conflict reduction, and contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Alongside these core objectives, the Peatland Breakthrough also expresses three enabling targets.

1. Peatlands should achieve net-zero emissions globally by 2050, ideally transitioning into a net greenhouse gas sink, with progress by 2030 driven by the core targets. This transition could reduce a predicted 4–5% of global emissions while promoting resilience for people and ecosystems.
2. At least USD 100 billion in finance must be mobilised by 2030 to operationalise peatland conservation, restoration, and sustainable use.
3. All countries with significant peatland emissions are expected to establish national peatland inventories and monitoring systems aligned with international standards by 2030, enabling transparency and adaptive management.

To achieve these goals, the framework outlines key action areas. These include safeguarding peatland ecosystems by addressing drivers of degradation, applying ecological restoration practices such as rewetting, and maintaining hydrological and ecological integrity at the landscape scale. Practical implementation must be supported by science and diverse knowledge systems, integrating community-driven innovations, such as paludiculture, while developing long-term monitoring systems and upholding Indigenous data sovereignty. Equity and inclusion are central pillars, calling for meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, smallholders, women, youth, and other affected groups, with strong adherence to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). Governance must be shared and coordinated across governments, land managers, communities, businesses, researchers, and civil society, supported by equitable partnerships, coherent policies, benefit-sharing mechanisms, and clear accountability.

Scaling action will require high-integrity, transparent finance, mobilised from both public and private sectors and accessible to local actors. Funding must support not only restoration but also research, capacity building, monitoring, and the development of alternative livelihoods, including paludiculture, while eliminating subsidies that drive peatland degradation. 

Overall, COP30 provided a foundation for establishing a coordinated, well-resourced global effort to protect and restore peatlands by promoting conversation surrounding climate finance, innovation, adaptation and mitigation. By setting clear 2030 and 2050 targets, centring equity and science, and recognising the importance of governance and finance, the Peatland Breakthrough establishes a clear plan for transforming how the world manages peatlands.