How Costa Rica’s environment minister talks to his daughter about climate change

Nov 4, 2019

People swim in the Celeste river waterfall at Tenorio Volcano National Park in Upala March 18, 2008. The blue color of the lagoon, formed from chemical reactions of calcium carbonate and sulfur, is surrounded by amazing rainforest of 12,819 hectares of this park. The Celeste river carries its color for a distance of 36 km (22 miles). REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate (COSTA RICA) - GM1E43J0V1A01

Carlos Manuel Rodríguez on the value of nature's carbon-fighting machines - trees. Image: REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate

Samantha Sault

Writer, Washington DC and Geneva

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If tropical deforestation were a country, it would rank third in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, only behind China and the United States of America.

Image: Seymour & Busch 2016 / Global Forest Watch / World Resources Institute

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