Liberia, May 12 -- Summary:

By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, New Narratives climate and environment reporter

In Liberia's dense tropical forests, where the canopy stretches unbroken for miles, the country is sitting on what could become a major financial windfall. Experts estimate the nation holds one billion tons of stored carbon, the ecological inheritance of centuries-old trees that have quietly absorbed carbon dioxide while the industrialized world created it by burning fossil fuels.

For the administration of Joseph Boakai, that carbon represents a potential economic lifeline. In October, Boakai issued an executive order creating a Carbon Market Authority, signaling Liberia's intent to formally enter the global carbon credit trade, a mark...