In the Ecuadorian Amazon, the government is not complying with a ruling won by nine young activists together with the organization Unión de Afectados por Texaco—UDAPT requiring ending gas flares, which consume the rights of local communities with flames and toxic gases and contribute enormously to climate change. Demand the president of Ecuador to eliminate gas flares to protect human rights and climate justice.
What’s the problem?
Burning fossil fuels is one of the primary sources of greenhouse gases responsible for the climate crisis. The burning of gas in flares emits 500 million tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to the emissions of the entire population of the United Kingdom, and large quantities of methane, a gas heating the atmosphere 84 times more than CO2. In addition, these gas flares create “sacrifice zones,” where people breathe toxic gases daily.
In 2021, Guerreras por la Amazonía (Amazon Warriors) and the organization “Unión de Afectados por Texaco” – UDAPT, Union of People Affected by Texaco, won a ruling ordering the Ecuadorian State to remove the flares and compensate the affected communities. However, the number of gas flares continues to increase, going from 394 in August 2021 to 486 in June 2023. Amnesty International verified that at least 52 flares are less than 5 km from population centres, a distance harmful to the environment and local communities. In addition, the gas flares are sometimes only temporarily turned off and then reactivated.
Ecuador is among the 30 countries with the most gas flares active in the world. The Ecuadorian Amazon and the rights of its inhabitants are burning, and with each gas flare lit, the future burns for everybody, especially young people.
What you can do to help?
Sign the petition and demand the President of Ecuador an urgent plan to eliminate the gas flares (especially those located 5 km from populated centres), implement policies to end the sacrifice zones in the Amazon, and move towards the gradual elimination of fossil fuels and a fair energy transition.
Link to action (english): Website of Amnesty International