Vincent Tchenguiz has teamed up with socialite Robin Birley, who runs London nightclub Annabel’s, to invest in African rainforests as a means of trading for carbon emissions

Tchenguiz’s Consensus is to invest $2m (£1.1m) in a joint venture that will implement the second phase of Birley’s Envirotrade’s forestry project in Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique.

The business will sell the carbon ‘offsets’ from the planted forestry to companies that are keen to reduce their carbon emissions, and to mitigate global warming. Globally, such carbon trading is now worth millions of dollars and can create financial inflows for developing countries.

Following the investment Envirotrade Mozambique will be 50% owned by Consensus and 50% by Robin Birley. Under the scheme hundreds of thousands of indigenous trees will be planted in the region. The trees are owned by local people, who also receive all the additional income from sales of side-products such as fruit, honey, livestock and cereal crops.

Tchenguiz said: ‘We believe that altruism and commercial benefits can co-exist. Our portfolio is, increasingly, being focused on environmentally friendly businesses, including renewable energy, biofuels, and forestry. We foresee the replication of the Envirotrade formula throughout suitable regions of Africa.’