revolutionary but little-known provision intended to protect remaining tropical forests . Known as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in developing countries , or REDD , the provision is based on the knowledge that destroying tropical forests contributes to global warming . Rain forests absorb and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide , the most prevalent of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change . Burning or clearing the forests returns that stored CO2 to the atmosphere , where it can trap heat and gradually increase temperatures . Every year , tropical forests equal to an area the size of England are destroyed , contributing about 20 percent of total annual greenhouse gas emissions -- more than all the world 's cars , trucks and airplanes combined . The idea of the proposed provision is to make the stored carbon dioxide in the forests a commodity that can be bought and sold on the global market . Polluters in the developing world would be able to offset their emissions by buying credits for stored forest carbon dioxide . The money from those purchases would go to developing world governments , international organizations , local communities and others involved in forest
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The world 's tropical forests are disappearing , and one reason is simple economics : People , companies and governments earn more by logging , mining or farming places such as the Amazon jungle than by conserving them . Global climate change treaty , scheduled for completion in December , is designed to protect tropical forests . Efforts to halt rain forest destruction date back decades , but they so far have failed to tackle the issue on a scale commensurate with the challenge . Now there may be a remedy , and the reason is climate change . Increased awareness of the threat from global warming has prompted unprecedented international focus on how to combat it , as well as new appreciation for the vital role of tropical forests in the climate change equation . On Tuesday , world leaders gather at the United Nations for a special climate change summit , intended to build momentum for a new global climate change treaty being negotiated by almost 200 countries . The new treaty is scheduled to be completed in December in Copenhagen , Denmark . If eventually enacted , the treaty will include a