Peatlands protection seen key to preventing climate change 'tipping point'

The world's endangered peatlands need better protection or else climate change will spiral out of control, environmentalists said on Thursday at the launch of a global initiative to help prevent their destruction. If they are drained or burned, that carbon is released as greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. This would in turn cause peatlands in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions to also release their carbon, according to the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) which is leading the initiative launched at