Peat extraction gets a lot of attention in debates about peatlands and climate. However, the exact impacts nor the relative share of peatland emissions are rarely presented. Here is how peat extraction compares with other uses of peatland in the EU, and what is still uncertain.

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1. By far most peatland emissions in the EU come from agriculture and forestry

Drained peatlands account for about 7% of the EU's man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Most of that comes from peatland drained for farming (about 128 Mt CO₂e a year) and forestry (about 103 Mt CO₂e a year).

Peat extraction and the use of the extracted peat, including peat burned for energy and the carbon released as horticultural peat breaks down, account for up to about 21 Mt CO₂e a year (emissions from horticultural peat are estimated to be about 10 Mt CO₂e per year including exports).

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The annual impact of agriculture in the EU is about 360 Mt CO₂e a year (not including the above emissions from peatland soils).

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Sources: van Giersbergen et al. (2025), Nature Communications; Gaudig & Hirschler (2023), Peatland Atlas.

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2. Extraction uses a small share of peatland area

Peat extraction takes place on an estimated 0.18% of the EU's peatland area. The exact area is disputed: industry estimates are around 600 km², while one recent study gives 56 km² (likely an underestimate).

Source: derived from industry estimates and EU peatland area; van Giersbergen et al. (2025).

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3. Per hectare, extraction is intensive

On the land where it happens, peat extraction releases more greenhouse gas per hectare than other peatland uses. This is mostly due to the carbon oxidation of the extracted peat (80-90%) which gets released over decades (~5% of remaining peat per year) but is counted at emitted 100% at time of extraction (reports indicate that 10-30% of horticultural peat is not emitted after 100 years, so current values maybe an overestimate). Most peat is extracted from sites that have already been drained and/or degraded that are already emitting CO₂ due to oxidation of the peat.

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Source: Gaudig & Hirschler (2023).

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4. How much horticultural peat is extracted

Around 48 million m³ of horticultural peat is extracted in Europe each year and around 59 million m³ worldwide.

 

Source: Nguyen et al. (2026), Frontiers in Horticulture, Table 5 (three-year average 2021–23).

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5. The global picture

Degraded peatlands worldwide emit around 2 Gt CO₂e a year, excluding fires. Most of this comes from drainage for agriculture and forestry. Global emissions from horticultural peat extraction (including eventual oxidation of peat) are approximately 0.01 - 0.02 Gt CO₂e a year.

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Source: UNEP Global Peatlands Assessment (2022).

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What this means

Reducing emissions from peatlands means looking at all drained peatland, most of which is under agriculture and forestry. For the footprint of growing media, the question is not only how much peat is used, but what it is mixed in with and how well plants grow in the final mix: every constituent has its own footprint.

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Source: Migoni Alejandre et al. (2026), Journal of Cleaner Production.

 

References

• Gaudig, G. & Hirschler, O. (2023). In: Peatland Atlas 2023. 

• Migoni Alejandre, E. et al. (2026). Journal of Cleaner Production 575: 149269.

• Nguyen et al. (2026). Frontiers in Horticulture. doi:10.3389/fhort.2026.1800056 

• UNEP (2022). Global Peatlands Assessment.

• van Giersbergen et al. (2025). Nature Communications.