Hudson Bay Peatlands: The Global Climate Powerhouse at Risk from Mining

The Water Brothers and Wildlands League examine the Hudson Bay peatlands, a vast northern Canadian ecosystem where peat stores enormous amounts of carbon and supports wildlife from caribou to polar bears to Arctic birds. Peatlands act as climate regulators because water-saturated mosses slow decomposition, locking away carbon for centuries. The article highlights that peat stores more carbon per acre than the Amazon and calls the region a living climate regulator or the breathing lands. Yet these lands face threats from mining, agriculture and development, especially where mineral deposits sit beneath peat in the Ring of Fire. Indigenous nations and conservation groups advocate Indigenous-led planning to protect peatlands while balancing development needs, underscoring the complex choices in the clean energy transition.

Overview: Hudson Bay Peatlands as a Climate Asset

The article from The Water Brothers and Wildlands League highlights the Hudson Bay peatlands as a giant, biodiversity-rich ecosystem spanning northern Manitoba to Quebec. It emphasizes peat’s crucial role in climate regulation, noting that water-saturated mosses trap carbon and slow decomposition, making peatlands among the planet’s most potent long-term carbon stores. The piece stresses that peatlands store more carbon per acre than the Amazon and are essential to global climate stability. The phrase “the breathing lands” underscores Indigenous and local reverence for this landscape and its climate function, with Valérie Courtois calling peatlands a regulator of Earth's temperature.

"It's the world's temperature regulator" - Valérie Courtois, executive director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative.

Science and Landscape: How Peat Works

In northern climates, peatlands form from sphagnum moss, whose sponge-like cells retain water and create anaerobic, waterlogged conditions that suppress decomposition. This biological mechanism preserves carbon over millennia, contributing to the land’s extraordinary carbon storage capacity. The article notes peat’s global significance, with peatlands worldwide holding vast carbon reserves that influence atmospheric CO2 levels and climate outcomes. The Hudson Bay peatlands’ carbon power is framed as a critical climate solution in the context of a fast-changing energy economy.

“the breathing lands” phrase reflects Indigenous nations around Hudson Bay’s view of the ecosystem as a living regulator of climate, reflecting a deep cultural relationship with the landscape and its carbon function.

Threats and Trade-offs: Mining vs Peatlands

The piece details growing threats from mining, agriculture, and development. It explains that mining exploration can alter hydrology, dry peatlands, and re-activate decomposition, releasing carbon stored for thousands of years. The Ring of Fire in northern Canada sits atop mineral deposits used in clean energy technologies, creating a paradox where the pursuit of metals for batteries could undermine a major climate solution. The article argues that protecting peatlands should take priority in some cases to prevent carbon release, even as mineral resources are important for the energy transition. Indigenous-led conservation efforts are presented as a path to balancing preservation with development, urging planning that prioritizes what must be kept in these landscapes, not just what can be taken.

"The breathing lands" - Indigenous Nations around Hudson Bay.

Paths Forward: Indigenous-led Conservation and Clean Energy

In Canada, First Nations and conservation groups advocate Indigenous-led planning to safeguard peatlands while recognizing development needs. The article calls for development pathways that preserve critical landscapes, integrate Indigenous knowledge, and ensure climate protection remains central as the world shifts to cleaner energy. The broader implication is that peatlands, as carbon vaults, require explicit consideration in policy and project planning to balance net-zero objectives with nature-based climate solutions.

Overall, the Hudson Bay peatlands serve as a litmus test for how societies navigate the climate-energy transition, showing that the most powerful climate solutions can be found in protecting intact ecosystems as much as in extracting the minerals that enable a low-carbon future.