Economist discusses Amazon's future

The visit included a seminar for students and staff of Geosciences and Business and Economics, focused on the ecological value of the Amazon to the World and the possibilities for reducing deforestation.

Guests at the event included Tim Rollinson, Director General of the UK’s Forestry Commission.

Maintaining the rainforest

Professor Young and Dr Patrick Meir, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Geosciences, are joint leaders of a project to examine the potential for developing a system whereby inhabitants of the Amazon would be paid for maintaining the rainforest.

The project is aimed at tipping the economic balance in favour of sustainable management of the Amazon, so the rainforest continues to benefit the local inhabitants while important reductions are made in greenhouse gas emissions.

Our work in the Amazon cuts across many disciplines and addresses a key issue in environmental science and policy.

The project is funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development, the National Environment Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council.

The University of Edinburgh offers an MSc in Carbon Management and is also home to the Carbon Benchmarking Project, which works with companies and stakeholders to develop frameworks to measure and compare corporate performance on climate change.