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Viewing cable 09QUITO204, ECUADOR'S MFA PITCHES YASUNI ITT CONSERVATION PROJECT TO
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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
09QUITO204 | 2009-03-24 19:15 | 2011-05-02 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Quito |
VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHQT #0204/01 0831915
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241915Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0192
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8056
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3468
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAR LIMA 3116
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 4118
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4211
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 0630
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS QUITO 000204
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EPET PREL SENV ECON EC
SUBJECT: ECUADOR'S MFA PITCHES YASUNI ITT CONSERVATION PROJECT TO
WESTERN DIPLOMATS
Ref. A) 08 Quito 1497
¶1. (SBU) Summary. On March 5, 2009 the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry
presented a revised proposal to forego development of oil fields in
the environmentally sensitive Yasuni Park in exchange for
international compensation. The new initiative focuses on
compensation based on carbon credits rather than the value of
foregone oil production. End Summary.
A "Revolutionary" Proposal
--------------------------
¶2. (U) Foreign Minister Fander Falconi presided over the March 5
meeting, and former Foreign Minister Francisco Carrion and former
Quito Mayor Roque Sevilla briefed Western diplomats on the proposal.
The meeting was attended by Ambassadors from several European
countries. Falconi presented the Yasuni initiative as a
"revolutionary" idea in which Ecuador would make development
sacrifices on behalf of the global community. The plan was first
presented in June 2007 by President Rafael Correa and was initially
called "Keeping Oil in the Ground" (reftel a).
¶3. (U) The Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) field constitutes an
estimated 20% of Ecuador's total oil reserves. It is located within
Ecuador's Yasuni National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in
Amazonian rainforest with exceptional biodiversity, intact and
contiguous habitat, and traditional indigenous populations. The
park is located within Ecuador's "Untouchable Zone," a 750,000
hectare area with no road, infrastructure, hydroelectric, oil, or
mining development. This allows "uncontacted" indigenous people in
the area to continue their traditional lifestyle without
disturbance. The GOE's original plan called for the international
community to compensate Ecuador for half the value of the petroleum
in the ITT field, which, at the time, was about $1.75 billion. In
exchange, Ecuador would agree not to exploit the field, thus
protecting the biodiversity of the park by preventing deforestation,
mitigating climate change by reducing carbon pollution from
deforestation and from combustion of the oil, and supporting the
indigenous communities in their traditional way of life.
¶4. (SBU) The March 5 meeting was to provide an update on the
initiative and present a modified proposal. The key difference is
that the GOE now proposes using a carbon-pricing mechanism to value
the reserves. Sevilla said that exploiting the ITT reserves would
release 410 million metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The
mechanism he proposed for financing the initiative was modeled after
the Kyoto protocol, and would consist of the GOE issuing
"Certificates of Guarantee Yasuni" (CGYs), which would be classified
as carbon bonds ("certified carbon credits") by the signatory
countries for Annex 1 of the Kyoto Protocol. Companies and
investors would be able to purchase CGYs like other carbon credits
through the European Trading System (ETS) and would register these
purchases with participating governments. The Yasuni initiative
would also solicit voluntary contributions from supporting
governments and individual contributors. Noting the success that
the Obama campaign had in raising large sums through a broad network
of small donors, Sevilla presented a scenario in which individuals
could purchase, either online or through cell phone transactions,
"symbolic" barrels of oil that would remain in the ground. Proceeds
from the sales of CGYs would be placed in an international trust,
whose directors would have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that
the funds are used to advance development goals. The directors
would only be able to spend interest from the trust, meaning that
the benefits of the initiative would theoretically extend to
perpetuity.
Valuing the Reserves
--------------------
¶5. (SBU) The CGY bonds would be issued over a ten-year period, and
the total amount issued would be for the full value of the 410
million metric tons of carbon at ETS prices. The GOE's estimates
based upon carbon pricing have a value of $11.75 billion at October
2008 ETS carbon prices ($29 per metric ton) and $7.9 billion at
December 2008 prices ($15 per metric ton). If based upon oil
prices, the 820 million barrels in the ITT reserves have a
GOE-estimated net present value (NPV) of $11.6 billion at the
October 2008 West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price of $75/barrel, and
an NPV of $3.3 billion at the December WTI price of $49/barrel.
(Note: The ITT fields contain heavy oil. Current Ecuadorian oil
production sells at a discount from the WTI reference price, and the
ITT production would likely sell at even a larger discount, so using
the WTI reference price likely overstates the value of the oil. End
Note.)
Use of the Proceeds
-------------------
¶6. (U) There are five proposed objectives for the use of funds
raised through this initiative: 1) Protection of 40 "Natural Areas"
in Ecuador, which contain exceptional levels of biodiversity and
several indigenous communities. 2) Natural regeneration and
reforestation of 2.3 million hectares. 3) Upgrading Ecuador's
energy network to make it more efficient. 4) Subsidies to encourage
businesses and homes to convert to renewable sources of energy. 5)
Financing sustainable development initiatives, including the
exploitation of renewable energy resources. Some of these programs
might themselves be marketable for carbon credits or future
financing for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation (REDD).
State of the Project
--------------------
¶7. (U) The Yasuni initiative has received backing from the
Governments of Germany ($300,000) and Spain ($200,000). Sevilla
said the GOE was using these funds to perform studies on the
project, which are to be completed in March 2009. These studies
will be presented to the German government, which will evaluate the
initiative. If it approves of the legal, political, and technical
aspects, the German government will promote the certification of CGY
bonds as carbon credits to other countries in the EU and the OECD.
If an "important number" of European countries back the initiative,
the GOE will begin issuing CGYs. FM Falconi emphasized that this
initiative still had strong backing from Ecuadorian President
Correa, and suggested that it had also attracted a broad range of
support from European governments, politicians, NGOs, and
celebrities.
Comment
-------
¶8. (SBU) There is little doubt that the Yasuni Reserve contains
remarkable biodiversity and is worth preserving. However, there are
several aspects in the proposal that are problematic, including:
the valuation of the project, using either the oil or carbon credit
benchmarks; still undefined post-Kyoto rules for different forest
uses; lack of clarity on the guarantees that the GOE will provide;
continued pressure to develop the petroleum reserves; and likely
Ecuadorian resistance to an internationally managed fund because of
sovereignty concerns. In addition, within Ecuador there are many
other areas that equal Yasuni in the scope of their biodiversity,
and these funds could probably be applied even more effectively in
protecting these areas.
Hodges