CO2PEAT is a new 3-year EPA research project that aims to develop a research framework to complement and enhance the current best practices for reporting national estimates of CO2 emissions and removal for peatlands in Ireland.

Having kicked off in September 2022 under the EPA Research Programme 2021-2030, the project will employ advanced, process-based modelling methods that will be integrated with data on peatland extent and management status, carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics, topography, hydrology, and climate and Earth observation data.

The project aims to improve the current National Inventory Reporting methodologies by providing an analysis of GHG emission and removals and contributing to the development of robust emissions estimates.

Dr. Alina Premov, the Principal Investigator of CO2PEAT, is based in the School of Natural Sciences, Botany Discipline at Trinity College Dublin. She says “We are really excited to get started on CO2PEAT. The advanced modelling approaches that we will use in the project are expected to greatly contribute to improving our knowledge of peatland ecosystems and our understanding of how the strength of the peatland carbon sink is regulated by various factors at different timescales and climate scenarios.”

The research of CO2PEAT aims to identify the main drivers and establish links between these drivers and the trends in GHG emissions and removals in Ireland. that can aid key stakeholders to manage Ireland’s peatlands in a way that maximises their potential for climate mitigation. As such, CO2PEAT is expected to provide important information to inform the implementation, impacts and monitoring requirements of Peatlands and People, as well as the activities under Bord na Mona’s Enhanced Decommissioning, Rehabilitation and Restoration Scheme (EDRSS).

For more information and to stay up to date with the CO2PEAT project, check out the project website or follow the project on Twitter.