US e-commerce giant Amazon will support a new voluntary certification programme in Ireland aimed at restoring 700,000 hectares of degraded peatlands that could avoid up to 2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund will back the Peatland Standard for Ireland with €495,000, the company said in a statement issued on Nov. 5.
The certification scheme, which aims to help farmers and landowners verify and demonstrate the environmental benefits of peatland restoration, has also received funding from the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH) of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Ireland’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
Peatland Standard for Ireland establishes a framework to measure gains in emissions reduction, water quality, biodiversity, ecosystem health, community impact, and wildfire prevention across the country’s degraded peatlands.
It will allow landowners to attract funding for peatland restoration, enabling them to offer verified ecosystem certificates – on carbon, biodiversity, and water – to organisations interested in supporting conservation and sustainability efforts, Amazon said.
Developed over the past 15 months by non-profit Peatland Finance Ireland, the standard is open for public consultation until Dec. 5 and is anticipated to launch early next year, the statement said.
“The new Peatland Standard recognises the environmental, economic and societal benefits from reviving these vital ecosystems,” said Shane Mc Guinness, founder and director at Peatland Finance Ireland.
“Quantifying the benefits of carbon, biodiversity and water enhancements will unlock financing for community restoration work, which is only possible when funding comes from a diverse and blended range of sources.”
The new certification will comply with international environmental principles, align with the EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Certification Framework, and be validated and verified by independent third-party auditors working to ISO standards, Amazon said in the statement.
The peatlands finance industry is expected to mature between 2030 and 2050, attracting investments in biodiversity credits bundled with water-related payments, according to a report published in January by non-profit Landscape Finance Lab, NGO Climate Catalyst, and the WaterLands project.
By Dimana Doneva – dimana@carbon-pulse.com
