 Living trees shoot the world more than dead ones. That idea is at the center of a global plan to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and combat climate change. But creating a world where forests thrive is complicated. Here is the plan. In Santa Ivaes developing countries in the tropics, struggling to preserve forests and pitlands by paying them when they show they have saved forests and avoided carbon emissions. This is called resource-based payments. How do they work? Giver or receiver agree on a formula. So the more emissions are avoided the higher the payment. Receiver decides how to achieve resource and acts. Results are independently confirmed. Payment is made. But there are a lot of challenges along the way. How do you calculate a baseline's reference level of carbon emissions? What if a country doesn't have funds to act? Who should receive payments? What happens to the proceeds? C4's Global Comparative Study of Red Class has studied the challenges for resource-based payments across 22 countries. Ways forward include Funding along the way for countries to achieve results. Focus on carbon with safeguards and other non-carbon benefits as constraints or additional incentives. Standardize definitions of deforestation, forest degradation and time periods for setting emissions reference levels. Independent review of set reference levels. Agree on a benefit-sharing system so the least powerful get their fair share. Payments made to those who incur the cost of reducing emissions.