"Brazil Refuses To Join Pledge To End Deforestation"

"Brazil has refused to sign up to a pact setting a deadline for ending deforestation entirely by 2030.

The US, Canada and European Union nations were among 30 states that agreed to halve forest loss by 2020 and work towards a 2030 goal.

But Brazil, which owns the largest continuous rainforest on the planet, refused to sign because it could contravene national law.

UN officials said they hoped the pact would be adopted in 2015."

BBC News had the story September 23, 2014.