This document discusses Ecuador's Yasuní-ITT Initiative from 2007-2013, which proposed leaving oil deposits unextracted in the Yasuní National Park in exchange for payments. It aimed to establish a model for keeping fossil fuels in the ground to mitigate climate change. The initiative would have created a UN-administered trust fund to compensate Ecuador from contributions by other nations. While the initiative ultimately failed due to lack of funding, the document argues its mechanisms could still be adopted to responsibly allocate extraction rights and emissions allowances globally, as nations prepare agreements for the 2015 Paris climate conference.

1.
How
to
begin
maintaining
fossil
fuel
in
the
ground
now
The
Legacy
of
the
Yasuní-­‐ITT
Initiative
Maria
Rosa
Murmis
and
Carlos
Larrea
As
nations
prepare
for
binding
agreements
on
Climate
Change
at
the
end
of
this
year
in
Paris,
one
of
the
foremost
thoughts
in
their
leaders’
minds
must
be
–or
should
be-­‐
how
to
respond
to
the
politically
sensitive
and
socially
trasformational
fact
that
in
order
to
avoid
catastrophic
climate
change,
humanity
cannot
extract
more
than
about
a
third
of
proven
fossil
fuel
reserves.
According
to
scientific
evidence,
to
keep
global
warming
within
the
estimated
safe
boundary
of
a
2
°C
rise
in
global
temperature
by
2100,
the
larger
proportion
of
reserves
must
be
left
under
the
ground.
This
means
that
the
nations
of
the
world
must
collectively
make
two
critically
important
decisions
regarding
allocation
of
rights
across
the
globe:
1)
which
reserves
are
to
be
extracted,
and
which
are
to
be
left
underground,
and
2)
who
emits
how
much.
The
world
has
some
experience
managing
the
second
point.
No
experience
with
the
first.
Yet
it
is
not
true
that
we
must
start
from
zero.
In
2007,
Ecuador’s
President
Rafael
Correa
proposed
to
leave
the
oil
deposits
under
the
Ishpingo,
Tambococha
and
Tiputini
(ITT)
fields1
of
Yasuni
National
Park
in
the
ground
in
exchange
for
half
of
the
oil
revenue
the
country
would
be
forsaking.
The
Ecuadorean
State
was
willing
to
contribute
up
to
half
of
the
opportunity
cost
of
keeping
the
oil
underground,
and
the
rest
was
to
be
provided
by
the
international
community.
Unfortunately,
after
six
years
of
negotiations,
in
late
2013,
Correa
announced
that
Ecuador
would
be
abandoning
the
Yasuní-­‐ITT
Initiative
and
going
ahead
with
the
exploitation
of
the
oil
fields.
Nevertheless,
years
of
commitment
by
those
involved
resulted
in
the
creation
of
an
innovative
financial
and
institutional
mechanism,
aimed
at
leaving
the
oil
underground,
that
the
world
could
adopt
today.
The
mechanism
created
consisted
of
a
trust
fund
that
was
to
be
administered
by
the
United
Nations,
with
the
participation
of
a
multi-­‐stakeholder
committee
including
the
Ecuadorian
government
and
civil
society,
and
international
contributors.
The
Fund’s
capital
was
to
come
from
both
public
and
private
voluntary
contributions
from
the
international
community.
The
Fund
was
to
be
an
instrument
of
sustainable
development,
safeguarding
environmental
and
social
values,
including
the
protection
of
rights
and
cultures
of
the
Park’s
local
communities.
The
Fund’s
capital
would
be
invested
in
renewable
energy
projects
in
Ecuador,
and
the
interest
generated
would
be
directed
to
1
846
million
barrels
of
petroleum
reserves.

2.
sustainable
activities:
Conserving
and
preventing
deforestation
in
protected
areas
and
participatory
management
of
natural
areas
belonging
to
local
communities,
conserving
the
Park
in
such
a
way
as
to
allow
the
Tagaeri
and
Taromenane
peoples
to
remain
in
voluntary
isolation,
reforestation
and
sustainable
management
of
forests
owned
by
small
landholders,
increasing
energy
conservation
and
efficiency
nationwide,
and
promoting
social
development
and
sustainable
activities
in
the
Amazon
basin,
including
health,
education,
training,
technical
assistance
and
job
creation
in
sustainable
activities,
such
as
ecotourism,
agriculture
and
agro-­‐
forestry2.
Ultimately,
the
goal
of
the
Yasuni-­‐ITT
Fund
was
to
promote
the
transition
from
the
current
development
model,
based
on
petroleum
extraction,
which
has
demonstrably
failed
at
reducing
poverty
and
inequality,
to
a
new
strategy
based
on
equity
and
sustainability.3
Maybe
Yasuni
was
ahead
of
its
time.
Although
scientists
have
warned
for
years
that
all
known
reserves
could
not
be
burnt
if
we
were
to
stay
within
the
2
°C
temperature
increase
limit
to
avoid
a
climate
crisis,
the
world
was
not
really
listening.
Today,
as
many
of
the
world’s
leaders
appear
to
be
embracing
the
need
to
take
action,
and
as
the
importance
of
involvement
by
all
nations
–rich
and
poor-­‐
in
tackling
climate
change
is
agreed
upon,
it
seems
that
the
time
has
come
to
honour
the
legacy
of
the
Yasuni-­‐ITT
Initiative:
a
great
contribution
to
humankind
from
a
country
that
accounts
for
only
0.12%
of
the
World
GDP,
but
obviously
for
a
much
larger
percentage
of
its
climate
smartness
and
courage.
We
can
start
leaving
oil
under
the
ground
now.
We
know
we
must,
we
have
the
tools
(the
Yasuni-­‐ITT
mechanism),
and
we
are
accountable
to
our
commitment
to
comply
with
our
common
but
differentiated
responsibilities
according
to
our
respective
capacities.
That
was
what
the
Yasuni
Initiative
was
about.
If
the
world
is
to
forego
the
extraction
of
a
portion
of
known
oil
reserves,
the
first
deposits
that
must
be
left
untouched
are
those
that
would
imply
the
greatest
losses
in
terms
of
Earth’s
living
systems,
local
communities
and
world
heritage
and
those
whose
preservation
would
entail
the
greatest
additional
benefits
in
terms
of
climate
change
mitigation
and
adaptation.
In
sum,
those
fossil
fuel
deposits
that
lie
under
areas
of
high
conservation
value
located
in
developing
countries.
Fortunately
–or
unfortunately-­‐
it
is
not
hard
to
find
candidates.
Half
way
around
the
world
from
Ecuador,
in
similar
latitudes,
another
biodiversity
rich
country,
Africa’s
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo
(DRC),
is
grappling
with
the
pressure
to
exploit
oil
deposits
that
have
been
found
in
Virunga
National
Park.
The
similarities
between
Virunga
and
Yasuni
are
enough
to
say
with
confidence
that
the
Yasuni
framework
would
fit
Virunga,
and
to
venture
the
effort.
2
Larrea,
Carlos
and
L.
Warnars.
2009.
Ecuador's
Yasuni-­‐ITT
Initiative:
Avoiding
emissions
by
keeping
petroleum
underground.
Energy
for
Sustainable
Development
Journal.
3
Ibid.

3.
Both
Virunga
and
Yasuni
are
tropical
rainforest
habitats,
lying
on
top
of
oil
reserves,
in
developing
countries
(in
the
case
of
the
DRC,
it
is
one
of
the
poorest
countries
in
the
world)4,
and
both
are
National
Parks.
UNESCO
has
declared
the
first
a
World
Heritage
Site
and
the
second
a
World
Biosphere
Reserve.
Both
are
“important
bird
and
biodiversity
areas”
according
to
Birdlife
International,
IUCN
Category
II
protected
areas,
and
both
belong
to
regions
considered
Priority
Places
for
Conservation
by
the
WWF
(the
Congo
Basin
and
the
Amazon
respectively).
Virunga
has
also
been
declared
a
wetland
of
international
importance
under
the
Ramsar
Convention 5
and
is
home
to
200
of
the
remaining
700
seriously
endangered
Mountain
Gorillas6.
Ecuador’s
Yasuni
is
the
most
important
biological
reserve
in
the
Amazon
basin
and
possibly
the
most
biologically
diverse
hotspot
in
the
Western
Hemisphere7.
It
is
also
home
to
two
indigenous
groups
in
voluntary
isolation;
that
is,
that
have
chosen
to
avoid
contact
with
western
culture
and
to
continue
living
their
traditional
lifestyle
based
on
gathering,
hunting
and
semi-­‐
nomadic
agriculture.
In
addition,
the
Yasuni
Park
is
home
to
about
3000
contacted
indigenous
peoples8.
In
the
case
of
Virunga,
some
50,000
people
depend
economically
from
fishing
and
related
commercial
activities.
Four
years
ago
London-­‐based
SOCO
begun
oil
exploration
in
the
southern
half
of
the
Park.
In
June
2014,
a
campaign
led
by
the
WWF
resulted
in
the
announcement
by
SOCO
that
it
was
ceasing
its
seismic
operations
in
the
area,
yet
the
extent
of
the
commitment
to
withdraw
from
Virunga
remains
unclear.
SOCO
has
labeled
it
as
a
“parenthesis”
and
agreed
not
proceed
without
UNESCO
and
Congolese
approval.
There
is
concern
that
Park
boundaries
may
be
redrawn
or
other
means
found
to
allow
for
the
continuation
of
the
operation.
Virunga
National
Park
is
an
opportunity
for
sustainable
development
involving
local
people
and
nature
conservation,
and,
in
addition,
benefitting
the
world
with
a
means
to
start
committing
oil
reserves,
as
we
must,
to
remaining
in
the
ground.
Yet
Virunga
is
struggling
to
maintain
its
integrity.
As
the
unprecedented
challenge
of
finding
solutions
to
climate
change
is
exacting
creative
capacities
to
the
limit,
it
would
be
a
good
idea
to
build
upon
those
tools
that
have
already
been
created:
innovative,
acting
on
the
main
cause
of
the
problem
(fossil
fuel
use),
tailor-­‐made
for
the
priority
cases,
and
framed
within
the
international
commitment
to
protect
the
climate
system
on
the
basis
of
equity
and
in
accordance
with
common
but
differentiated
responsibilities
and
respective
capabilities.
4
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD
5
www.unesco.org;
www.birdlife.org;
www.worldwildlife.org;www.ramsar.org.
6
www.virunga.org
7
Larrea,
Carlos.
2013.
“Extractivism,
economic
diversification and
prospects
for
sustainable
development
in
Ecuador”.
UASB-­‐Digital.
8
Larrea,
Carlos
and
L.
Warnars.
2009.
Ecuador's
Yasuni-­‐ITT
Initiative:
Avoiding
emissions
by
keeping
petroleum
underground.
Energy
for
Sustainable
Development
Journal.

4.
The
mechanism
created
for
Yasuni-­‐ITT
could
not
only
be
applied
to
the
Virunga
case,
it
should
become
a
permanent
mechanism
of
the
UN
Framework
Convention
on
Climate
Change:
A
fund
that
developing
nations
with
biodiverse
and
culturally
rich
areas
lying
over
oil
deposits
can
apply
to.
This
facility
could
be
endowed
with
enough
start-­‐up
funds
to
initiate
the
process
of
project
preparation
and
fund
raising,
with
a
central
body
charged
with
evaluation
responsibilities,
a
coordinating
role
for
projects
world
wide,
as
well
as
monitoring
and
control.
Multilateral
institutions,
such
as
regional
development
banks,
IBRD/World
Bank,
UNDP,
UNEP,
etc.,
could
act
as
implementation
agencies
as
well
as
provide
technical
support.
Today,
as
scientific
research
provides
further
evidence
that
a
great
portion
of
known
fossil
fuel
reserves
must
remain
unused
in
order
to
meet
the
2°C
target,
the
adequacy
and
importance
of
such
a
mechanism
as
a
tool
to
respond
to
rising
global
temperatures
cannot
be
overstated.
According
to
the
McGlade
and
Ekins9
study
assessing
the
geographic
distribution
of
unburnable
fossil
fuels
by
type,
42%
of
Central
and
South
America’s
(CSA)
oil
reserves
must
remain
in
the
ground,
as
well
as
26%
of
Africa’s.
Similarly,
McGlade
and
Ekins
estimate
that
56%
and
34%
of
gas
reserves
and
73%
and
90%
of
coal
reserves
are
unburnable
in
CSA
and
Africa
respectively.10
The
world
does
not
need
to
wait
until
a
permanent
framework
under
the
Convention
is
available.
The
application
of
a
Yasuni-­‐ITT
Trust
Fund
based
mechanism
to
the
case
of
Virunga
National
Park
could
serve
as
the
first
demonstrative
project
for
that
future
framework.
The
Yasuní
Initiative
may
have
been
so
cutting
edge,
so
challenging
to
political
will,
that
it
had
to
be
temporarily
put
away
because
it
was
ahead
of
its
time.
Now
its
time
has
come.
January,
2015
9
McGlade,
Christophe
and
Paul
Etkins.
The
geographical
distribution
of
fossil
fuels
unused
when
limiting
global
warming
to
2°C.
Nature
517,
187–190
(08
January
2015)
10
With
Carbon
Capture
and
Storage
the
figures
for
unburnable
reserves
change
to:
Africa,
oil
21%,
gas
33%,
coal
85%;
CSA,
oil
39%,
gas
53%,
coal
73%.