Peatlands continue to rise on the global agenda, especially in the context of climate action, where their conservation, restoration and sustainable management stand out as powerful nature-based solutions to the triple planetary crisis.

Their importance was on clear display at UNFCCC COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where more than eleven events were devoted to showing how keeping peatlands wet, and their carbon safely in the ground, is essential to meeting the Paris Agreement’s two-degree target. A statement from UNEP’s Executive Director captured the stakes succinctly, noting that peatlands will either be part of the problem or a key part of the solution. That message continues to serve as a guiding reference for the Global Peatlands Initiative and the wider peatland partnership community, particularly as partners reaffirmed their commitments during sessions hosted across the ASEAN, East African Community, German, Indonesian, and Ukrainian pavilions.

Indonesia, a leader in the Global Peatlands Initiative’s South–South Cooperation, played a central role, continuing to host discussions on emerging peatlands issues, diversifying partnerships, and bringing peatlands firmly into high-level political and technical debates.