Humanity faces its greatest challenge ever. The climate challenges are astronomical. Let’s be honest – we all know that emissions must be reduced and eventually stopped altogether. Start with fossil peat! According to science, this is the cheapest, quickest and most effective way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Peat is Sweden’s brown coal! Vote NO!
The NO campaign argues for a ban on peat mining in Sweden.
The texts on the NO page are compiled based on research into peat mining and peatlands. Sources are listed alongside each individual text.
Återställ Våtmarker, along with a number of associations, organisations and movements, supports the NO campaign.
Wetlands sustain the fabric of life. These beautiful ecosystems serve humanity by mitigating the effects of climate change. They are a cradle of biodiversity and provide our planet with fresh water.
Wetlands are a cradle of biodiversity.
Just as coral reefs are the nurseries of the oceans, wetlands are a vital biological environment for countless species. Wetlands are nature’s own meeting place. These unique biological systems act as bridges connecting different life forms and habitats.
They sustain the fabric of life.
Although wetlands cover only around 6% of the Earth’s land surface, they are home to as much as 40% of the world’s plant and animal species.
These ecosystems are superheroes of biodiversity, providing a home and shelter for more than 100,000 known freshwater species, millions of migratory birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals – many of which are listed as endangered or critically endangered.
Wetlands are key to limiting the effects of climate change. Wetlands are incredible carbon sinks.
Dried-out wetlands, on the other hand, can become major emitters and threaten life on Earth by driving global warming.
Most of the world’s soil carbon is found in wetlands, but these valuable habitats are declining at an alarming rate. Over a third of wetlands have disappeared since 1970. The vital services that healthy wetlands provide, such as mitigating climate change, far outweigh those provided by terrestrial ecosystems.
We ignore the loss of wetlands at our own peril.
Wetlands are nature’s own solution to the climate crisis. They capture and store more atmospheric carbon than any other ecosystem on Earth. Peatlands, a type of wetland, cover only 3% of the planet’s land surface but store around 30% of land-based carbon.
Wetlands protect us from the effects of climate change. Mangrove forests and other coastal wetlands protect coastlines against storm surges and rising sea levels. Peatlands act like sponges, regulating water flow and reducing the effects of both droughts and floods.
Wetlands account for almost all of our fresh water. Wetlands are so central to the water cycle that a world without wetlands would be a world without fresh water.
Source:
Statistics Sweden (and more)
Peat extraction – an unknown climate saboteur
References:
Statistics Sweden , University of Gothenburg , The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and more
Reducing fossil fuel emissions is a matter of survival. Peat extraction has long been a hidden climate saboteur which, in Sweden, emits more than twice as much greenhouse gas as domestic air travel. That is why we must ban peat extraction. Vote against peat extraction.
Source:
University of Gothenburg (and more)
Peat is only beneficial when left undisturbed in the ground
References:
University of Gothenburg , SGU , SIWI and more
Peatlands store more carbon than all the world’s forests. All peat that is extracted ends up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is harmful to the climate. If we are to have any chance of survival, the peat must remain in the ground.
Source:
Nature (and more)
Peatlands mitigate the impact of current and future disasters
References:
Nature , The Guardian , The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and more
We face a bleak future marked by accelerating climate collapse, devastated ecosystems and mass extinction. Peatlands bolster our resilience against this destruction. They soothe and heal the wounds caused by current and future disasters.
Source:
SVT News (and more)
The Finnish government is destroying our bogs
References:
SVT News , The Swedish Association of Local Authorities , Swedish Nature
The Finnish state-owned company Neova is behaving like a classic coloniser as it wreaks havoc on the Swedish countryside. It exploits imported foreign labour, and all the profits go to the Finnish state. Left behind are the local people, with their natural environment destroyed and their future in ruins. Don’t let Grimsås happen again!
Source:
The Swedish Board of Agriculture (and more)
The demand for horticultural peat is driven by the peat industry
References:
The Swedish Board of Agriculture , The Swedish Government , Statistics Sweden and more
There are not only perfectly good alternatives to peat. The sharp rise in demand for growing peat and peat bedding in stables has been created by the peat industry itself. Let’s not be fooled – we don’t need peat!
Source:
Tidningen Land
The lobby group Svensk Torv is lying and misleading people
Reference:
The peat industry, like the rest of the fossil fuel industry, is a financially powerful opponent that has no qualms about lying and deceiving. We must be on our guard against propaganda, smear campaigns and outright lies.
Source:
IPCC (and more)
One person dies every minute as a result of climate collapse
This isn’t a opinion poll; your ‘No’ vote is a decision. Protecting peatlands and the carbon they store is the quickest and most effective way to prevent total climate collapse. Let’s vote ‘No’ now!
Restore Wetlands, Sveriges mest olydiga klimatrörelse som driver NEJ-kampanjen.
