Biden Climate Plan to Save Forests Pivots on Swamps, Wetland (1)

Protecting peatlands—carbon-dense swamps and forested wetlands found worldwide—are crucial to President Joe Biden’s forest conservation plan announced Tuesday at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow.

Peatlands are among the “critical ecosystems” the White House plan says are essential to turning down the heat on climate change—a move hailed by U.N.-affiliated organizations promoting peatland protection at the 26th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The U.S. announcement is significant because peatlands have been “used and abused” for centuries, said Stuart Brooks, peatland chair for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and head ...