Ecuador's Foreign Minister Fander Falconi with Fenton's Felipe Benitez at the Copenhagen climate conference
December 18, 2009
Ecuador is a significant presence in December's Copenhagen climate talks, part of a rain forest coalition that is seeking support from the Developed World to curtail cutting in the forests and preserve them as carbon-capturing assets.Senior Account Executive Felipe Benitez from Fenton's Washington office is in Copenhagen assisting the foreign ministry of Ecuador in promoting its unique rain forest preservation plan for the Yasuni region along the Amazon River. The forest has nearly 1 billion barrels of exploitable petroleum beneath its surface, but Ecuador is promoting a plan to create an international trust that would underwrite keeping the petroleum in the ground and, instead, exploit the forest for eco-tourism.
As part of the G-77 coalition of nations, Ecuador has been prominent in the climate debate, with officials appearing in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times during the conference, as well as European and Latin American media.
Ecuador's Foreign minister Fander Falconi being interviewed by Elizabeth Rosenthal of the New York Times.