The Ministry of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, reportedly explained the specifics of wetland management in EU Council working groups as early as 2019 during discussions on the future of land use, land-use change and forestry. According to the Minister, when developing the currently applicable regulation for the land use, land-use change and forestry sector, it was initially possible to reach an agreement on voluntary emission accounting in wetlands. However, the European Parliament held a contrary view, providing for the introduction of mandatory accounting from 2026. Consequently, voluntary emission accounting will no longer be possible.

As stated in the 2020 EC report, the peat industry is recognised as one of the most emission-intensive sectors in Latvia. Latvia is one of six EU member states where peat is extracted and used for energy, thereby generating greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the Territorial Just Transition Plan provides for Latvia to phase out peat extraction for energy use by 2030. The problem arises specifically from the fact that the report acknowledges that while small amounts of harmful gas emissions are produced when burning peat, larger emissions are generated when peat is extracted.