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REDD is one of those acronyms that you really should know and that you're going to be hearing more and more about. It stands for Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Chopping Down Forests Basically its a program that, well, does pretty much what it says: Hopes to find a way through economic incentives to reduce the massive greenhouse gas emissions (15-20% of global emissions) that occur when forests are chopped down, either for timber or for conversion into agriculture or pasture.
It's focused on rainforests or similar forests in developing nations, but rest assured that emissions from chopping down forests elsewhere in the world are pretty high too.
Make Forests Worth More Standing The basic idea is to provide financial incentives that make forests worth more standing that chopped down based on the carbon stored in the intact forest. The UN-REDD program website says financial flows for greenhouse gas emission reductions from REDD could amount to $30 billion per year.
Some key points to remember that can make or break how well this system works: 1) Intact forests need to be protected and language to that effect needs to be explicit; 2) Indigenous and community rights need to be considered, else the whole thing will only benefit rich nations; 3) Transparency needs to be assured so that forests are really storing the amount claimed and that forests that are preserved really are left standing.
