Can Ecuador Keep its Oil in the Ground?

Last August, Ecuador passed a historic referendum that was more than a decade in the making. Oil accounts for roughly a third of the country’s exports, but Ecuadorians voted to stop extraction at a major production site deep in the Amazon. Since the vote, Ecuador’s “Keep It in the Ground” movement has hit some speed bumps.
In collaboration with our sister program, Climate One (www.climateone...) , why curbing climate emissions has economic consequences for rural Ecuadorians.
Guests:
Kevin Koenig (www.climateone...) , Climate, Energy, and Extractive Industry Director, Amazon Watch
Kimberley Brown (kimberleyjbrow...) , freelance journalist
Mateo Schimpf (www.mateoschim...) , producer, On Shifting Ground
Host:
Ray Suarez ( / raysuareznews )

Ariana Brocious (www.climateone...) , co-host, Climate One
If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs (www.worldaffai...) . We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

[@FredHosea]

The destructive nature and socio-economic injustices of Ecuador's oil dependency, and mining industries, are clear, but it continues to be unclear what can possibly be a substitute. All countries that have centered their national economies on the oil-based international economy are going to face the serious, destabilizing effects of any transition to a more sane, sustainable energy model. We're hardly on the path to a rational transition, thanks to decades of denial and delay by government and corporate malfeasance.