Peat: Emissions
Digging up a carbon store, and what it costs
What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint of the commodity at a global level, split by lifecycle phase: extraction (or farming), refining and processing, movement, usage, and recycling or end of life. Intensities are per unit of product; the global total combines intensity with world output. Also covers other environmental impacts and the main levers to cut emissions. Emission intensity 1.20 t CO2e per t range 0.9-1.7 · cradle-to-grave; peat carbon of about 0.4-0.45 t C per t air-dry peat oxidising to CO2, plus drained-field and harvest emissions Global emissions per year 20.0 Mt CO2e per year 2025 · about 1.2 t/t times 17 Mt; excludes the much larger emissions of drained peatland used for farming and forestry; phase shares are not published, but use-phase oxidation is by far the largestPer t of peat harvested (as sold), cradle-to-grave, because the peat's own carbon oxidises in use or is burned. Intensity: IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement default carbon fractions (indicative). Global total: Derived from USGS MCS 2026 (indicative).
Footprint by lifecycle phase
| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extraction | drained fields emit about 3-8 t CO2e per ha a year | – | lowering the water table lets stored peat oxidise; ditches emit methane | Measured by Klasmann-Deilmann 2015-17; per-tonne share depends on yield per ha, not published | Klasmann-Deilmann (2018) |
| Refining / processing | small; Klasmann-Deilmann reports 60.9 kg CO2e per m3 of growing media (2025) | – | milling, screening, blending, compressing | down from 90.7 kg/m3 in 2013 as alternatives replace peat; reporting boundary not stated in the source used | HortiDaily (2026) on Klasmann-Deilmann report |
| Movement | about 0.02-0.06 t CO2/t (indicative) | – | truck and sea freight of bulky bales | Canada to US by truck and rail; Baltics to Asia by sea | Indicative |
| Usage | about 1.0-1.5 t CO2/t as horticultural peat decays over years, or about 1.0 t CO2/t when burned | – | microbial oxidation in pots and soils; combustion at about 106 t CO2 per TJ, higher than coal | This is the largest phase | IPCC 2006 Guidelines (fuel factor); IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement (indicative) |
| Recycling / end of life | rewetting cut-over bogs stops most on-site emissions | – | after-use rewetting, sphagnum farming or forestry | Peat itself is not recycled (USGS) | USGS MCS 2026; HortiDaily (2026) |
Other environmental impacts
Peat extraction destroys bog habitat. World peatlands cover about 4.07 million km2 and store large carbon stocks; drained peatlands for all uses are a major global emissions source of the order of 2 Gt CO2e a year (UNEP Global Peatlands Assessment 2022, indicative), of which extraction is a small part.
Levers to cut emissions
- Replace peat with wood fibre, bark, compost and coir (Klasmann-Deilmann target 50% alternatives by 2030)
- End peat burning for heat and power, as Finland is doing
- Rewet cut-over bogs promptly after harvest
- Grow sphagnum on rewetted land (paludiculture)
India
India produces no peat (USGS 2025) and uses coir pith, a coconut-husk by-product, as its main growing medium, which avoids the peat-carbon release.
Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.