– No amount of threats to convict peaceful climate activists of terrorist crimes will stop us. There is far more at stake. When science says humanity is under threat and politicians make things worse, ordinary people must act,” says Pontus Bergendahl, press spokesperson for Restore Wetlands.
Peatlands make up 3% of the Earth’s land surface. Unspoiled peatlands store more than twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined. Peat emits more carbon dioxide than coal, oil and gas when it is mined, burned in heating plants or used in planting soil. In Sweden, the Finnish state-owned company Neova accounts for over 70% of peat mining. Meanwhile, the Finnish government is receiving €466 million in subsidies from the EU to phase out its own peat mining.
The debate on peat has recently become increasingly heated. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, among others, argue for a stop to peat mining due to its high emissions, while peat mining producers defend their activities. The turmoil surrounding Neova’s peat mining in Grimsås in Tranemo municipality has been an ongoing conflict and became even more topical when Restore Wetlands stopped excavators and built a nature reserve on the bog in the summer of 2024.
