Ecuador's Yasuni-ITT Initiative: A Case Study on International Climate Change Mitigation Narratives
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Date
2015
Authors
Peck, Mairin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
In 2007, Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa presented an audacious climate change
mitigation plan to the world: Ecuador would leave 846 million barrels of crude oil
untouched beneath the Amazon if the global community reciprocated with a contribution
of 3.6 billion dollars – half of the oil’s market value (McAvoy 27). The Yasuní-ITT
Initiative, named after the area it sought to save, vowed to preserve immense
biodiversity, protect indigenous groups, and prevent the emission of 410 million tons of
carbon dioxide (Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues). In 2013, Correa abandoned the
initiative, lamenting the lack of international support, and approved oil drilling in the
Yasuní (Correa, “Anuncio a la Nación” 3). The purpose of this investigation was to identify
and examine the various narratives employed in the Yasuní-ITT Initiative, with the hope
of discovering transferrable conclusions for other global mitigation efforts. This project
relied heavily on speeches, government documents, and media accounts in both English
and Spanish to identify common narratives, while secondary scholarly articles were used
to frame the analysis. The narratives deployed in Ecuador’s Yasuní-ITT Initiative common
but unequal responsibility for climate change, a reconceptualization of value, and
Ecuador as martyr and revolutionary – reflect a framework that simultaneously criticized
and sought authority from the capitalist ideal. The failure of the Yasuní-ITT Initiative to
capture the hearts and wallets of the world provides insight into the dominant global
forces and perspectives on climate change mitigation policy.
Description
10 pages
Keywords
Yasuni-ITT Initiative, Climate change, Climate change mitigation, Ecuador