Preserving the rainforest is vital, because rainforest destruction emits more carbon than, for example, total worldwide car and air travel. Nicholas Stern, economist and author of the influential Stern Review, pointed out in his 2009 book, A blueprint for a safer planet, that “we have to … halt deforestation”.

To prevent deforestation, the UK and other relatively rich countries need to pay money to the countries with the rainforests. Nicholas Stern estimates that 30 billion dollars per year could fully compensate rainforest countries for the income they receive from allowing their forests to be cut down. A Tobin-style tax on financial transactions (also known as the 'Robin Hood' tax) of 0.05% could raise more than ten times this amount. Stopping rainforest destruction would immediately stop one sixth of the world's carbon emissions. In addition, Dr Simon Lewis of the Royal Society reported in 2009 that trees in tropical forests are absorbing nearly a fifth of the carbon dioxide that is emitted by burning fossil fuels.

The countries with the forests would also benefit because, as Nicholas Stern points out, “the loss of tree cover damages water retention and can have a dramatic effect on water flows, flooding and soil erosion (the floods in Bihar in the summer of 2008 were largely caused by silting of rivers in Nepal, leading to overflow, as a result of soil erosion from the loss of trees).” Prince Charles is trying to gain funding for an emergency package to protect the rainforest: rainforestsos.org/pages/emergency-package