The IUCN UK Peatland Programme has launched a new update to the Peatland Code, which helps to boost the restoration of the UK’s peatlands.
By registering with the Peatland Code, landowners with eligible, degraded peatlands can generate carbon units which can be sold to companies seeking to offset their residual carbon emissions. These carbon buyers are provided with assurance that their greenhouse gas reduction claims are validated and verified by an independent body. The role of the Peatland Code is to underpin market trust and confidence and facilitate a way to bring private finance into peatland restoration.
Renée Kerkvliet-Hermans, Peatland Code Manager at the IUCN UK Peatland Programme, said:
“It is essential for the Peatland Code to continuously align with international standards in the Voluntary Carbon Market to maintain and attract buyers for our carbon units. A lot of work has gone into this version to align with the updated ISO 17029:2019 standards and with the international standards such as the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA).”
What is new in version 2.1?
We are hosting a public webinar in January 2025 in which we will summarise the updates made and why, followed by a question and answer session. Registration will be announced on the events pages of our website and on our LinkedIn and X channels.
General updates:
- Updated language in line with the updated ISO standards to distinguish between mandatory requirements and best practice.
- A separate ‘Validation and Verification Scheme Document’, specifically for Validation and Verification Bodies setting eligibility requirements, but useful for others involved in the Peatland Code.
- Clustering of projects is now possible. However, all projects within a cluster undergo the same Peatland Code processes as non-clustered projects, with potential cost saving possibilities outside the Peatland Code process.
- Updated risk assessment, risk buffer requirements and guidance. Validated risk assessments will now be publicly available on the registry.
- Risk buffer increase to 20%, in line with ICVCM. The associated calculators have been updated to reflect this.
- Projects now must report on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the Project Design Document (PDD). This is an ICVCM requirement.
- Updated consultation guidance with input from the Nature Finance Certification Alliance (NFCA), who are working on a Community Inclusion Standard Certification which will be helpful in working towards eventual certification to the planned British Standards Institute community inclusion standard.
- Updated guidance and requirements for verification, including how the percentage of Pending Issuance Units (PIUs) to Peatland Code Units (PCUs) conversion is calculated.
Fen projects:
- Fen projects with the baseline condition ‘Cropland – Drained’ and ‘Grassland’ that used to be cropland in the past 20 years can have a peat depth lower than 45 cm IF the project can evidence that the Soil Organic Carbon stock is more than 30 times the Emission Factor for CO2-C emissions for the relevant baseline category. The Peatland Code Field Protocol v2.1 provides guidance on soil sampling to prove this.
- Updated water table monitoring requirements in the Peatland Code Field Protocol which better reflect the diversity of fens. This means that projects must now design their own monitoring set up and get this signed off by an expert who meets the competency requirements set out in the Peatland Code Field Protocol. The Peatland Code team are planning on improving these requirements in the next few weeks, so please let us know if you have any suggestions.
- It has come to the Peatland Code team’s attention that rust rods are generally unreliable in most fen types, providing accurate data only in most agricultural fields of drained fen peat. However, issues arise here if the peat has layers of flood-derived mineral sediment, as this influences the chemistry and therefore the rusting of the rods. After rewetting, rust rods may therefore no longer give precise readings. The Peatland Code Guidance document v2.1 has information on how to move forward for current projects that have installed rust rods. We apologise for this oversight and please get in touch if you have any questions about this.
From the 1st of February 2025, all Project Plan Validations and Verifications shall be against Peatland Code v2.1 and associated documents, with the potential exception of using an earlier version of the Peatland Code Field Protocol.
Field surveys are valid for 2 years, peat depths up to 5 years. Projects will need to evidence they have done the field survey before the 1st of February 2025 in order to use an earlier version of the Peatland Code Field Protocol. Detailed guidance is provided in the Peatland Code Guidance document.
To access the Peatland Code and all associated guidance documents, templates and protocols, visit the Peatland Code pages of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme website: For Projects | IUCN UK Peatland Programme.
