Abstract

ESPINOSA-LANDAZURI, Paulina  and  MANCERA-RODRIGUEZ, Néstor Javier. THE YASUNÍ-ITT INITIATIVE: ALTERNATIVE MECHANISM FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION. Luna Azul [online]. 2015, n.40, pp.260-276. ISSN 1909-2474.  https://doi.org/10.17151/luaz.2015.40.17.

In 2007, Ecuador proposed to leave unexploited, one of the most bio-diverse regions on the planet, one of its most important oil reserves in the Yasuní National Park in exchange for financial contributions from the international community. This proposal led to the new climate change mitigation mechanism, "Net Avoided Emissions" (NAE), within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This paper describes the Yasuní Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini (Yasuní-ITT) initiative, the characteristics of its proposed mitigation mechanism and compares it with other existing mechanisms, and poses possible scenarios against the impending failure of the Yasuní-ITT Initiative. The NAE mechanism helps complementing other already established mechanisms such as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Reducing Emissions Derived from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD / REDD+), and takes into account several innovative aspects in climate change mitigation that would be more efficient in the net balance of emissions into the atmosphere. The new mechanism poses consequent changes in the developmental schemes, but seems to be doomed to failure due to the international community indifference and its reluctance to change current patterns of energy use that are highly dependent on fossil fuels.

Keywords : Sustainable development; avoided net emissions; oil exploitation; Yasuní National Park.

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