Prime minister advised to pay for rainforest protection

Developing countries will be paid to protect the world's rainforest under new plans to be presented to the Government. By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent Swedish businessman and ex-Tory donor Johan Eliasch was commissioned by Gordon Brown to look at ways to protect "lungs of the world". Rainforest destruction accounts for about a fifth of the carbon emissions, blamed for fuelling climate change. The report is expected to say the best way forward is to make it financially worthwhile for countries with rainforests to protect endangered areas. Campaigners fear the money could end up in the wrong hands and indigenous people could be driven out of rainforests. The most likely way forward would be to create "forest off-set credits" that will be traded between countries as part of the existing carbon markets that already... [read full story]