York, but representing Papua New Guinea; good looking, comfortable in the spotlight, fluent in the language of markets and technology and “paradigm shifts”, while able to tell stories of his humble childhood in the Sepik. In 2007, he made news around the world when he shamed the Bush administration for blocking progress at the final plenary session of the Bali climate change summit. “If you’re not willing to lead,” said Conrad, addressing thousands of delegates, “then get out of the way.” The sight of tiny Papua New Guinea facing down the United States made him something of a hero at the negotiations.

I first met Conrad around this time. It was during a week of tense, soporific talks in Bonn in the run-up to the disastrous Copenhagen summit of2009, and he stuck out a mile. He was like a Hollywood actor playing the part of UN climate change negotiator. He talked about how the sea had risen to submerge a tree in Wewak, where he used to make out with his girlfriend, and boasted about how he and his allies – by this point Conrad was leading a group known as the Coalition for Rainforest Nations – were running circles around their enemies at the talks. “That’s because we actually know how to get something done,” he said. In the wreckage of Copenhagen, REDD was one of the few elements of the UN process to emerge with its momentum intact. In 2010, Norway and Indonesia signed the world’s first major REDD deal. It was worth $1bn.

The