Friday, September 12, 2008

Currently, rainforests are worth more dead than alive


Why the West should put money in the trees. Guyana's President Bharat Jagdeo explains how Guyana's forrests can contribute to carbon sequestration and mitigate global warming.


In 2006, Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo outlined an offer to place almost the entirety of Guyana's rainforest under international supervision as part of the world's battle against climate change. In the Green Room this week, President Jagdeo sets out his views on how to reduce the 18% of greenhouse gas emissions caused by tropical deforestation.

Imagine a business which invested 80% of its profits in products with the lowest rate of return. Is this business destined to succeed? Unlikely. Yet global efforts to combat climate change bear a worrying similarity. The Kyoto Protocol has resulted in the emergence of a more than US$60bn (£34bn) carbon market as the world's main mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More >>>