By Alicia Moncada, Americas climate justice researcher, and Tamaryn Nelson, legal advisor for business and human rights
At night in the Ecuadorian Amazon, huge flames light up the darkness. Flames from the gas flares that tower over the oil wells and that, far from being a sign of progress, are living scars on the green lungs of our planet. Not only do they burn natural gas, needlessly wasting a non-renewable resource, but they also pollute the air, destroy biodiversity and threaten the lives and rights of nearby communities. Here, environmental justice has been a distant dream for over 57 years, while human rights burn with the gas.
The burning of gas in flares: a huge climate blunder
From exploration through to exploitation, oil extraction severely affects biodiversity and generates impacts that undermine the rights to a life of dignity, to health and to a clean and healthy environment. In particular, the burning of gas in flares has become a symbol of injustice, since their continued operation exacerbates the global climate crisis by contributing significant emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane, a super pollutant with a warming effect on the atmosphere much more powerful than that of CO2. The persistence of this pernicious and unnecessary practice perpetuates an economic model of reliance on fossil fuels.
Amnesty International has conducted extensive research and found that, despite a court ruling ordering their removal, the number of flares has increased, and they continue to operate near populated areas. This situation deepens the systemic marginalization, inequality and environmental racism – defined as the unequal burden of negative environmental impacts that disproportionately affect racialized communities – experienced in the Ecuadorian Amazon, as a vast sacrifice zone of the oil industry.
According to the World Bank, Ecuador is one of the top 30 gas flaring countries in the world, and by continuing this harmful practice it is putting the lives, health and rights of its most impoverished communities at risk.
The Ecuadorian government and companies such as Petroecuador have chosen to perpetuate this practice, putting financial profits from oil extraction before human lives and the environment, when what they should be doing is complying with their responsibility to uphold human rights in the context of climate change and align their activities and business models with the goals of the Paris Agreement, specifically to limit the increase in the global average temperature to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels.
The government must also open a dialogue with Indigenous peoples and respect their cosmovision and priorities, in order to stop the expansion of sacrifice zones and protect the Amazon’s unique biodiversity. As Ecuador goes to the polls, it is imperative that whoever is elected as the country’s president not only complies with the court ruling but also implements policies to address the structural causes of inequality and marginalization in the Amazon that have been exacerbated by the oil industry, which continues its extraction activities at any cost.
Resistance by girls and young women from the Ecuadorian Amazon
In the midst of this devastating scenario, nine girls and young women from the Amazon have raised their voices against this symbol of destruction. Supported by the Union of People Affected by Texaco’s Oil Operations (UDAPT) and the “Eliminen los Mecheros” (Remove the flares) collective, these young women decided to fight the fire monsters – as they call them – in defiance of the Ecuadorian state and the oil industry. These activists and their cause, known as the “Flares Case”, won a historic ruling from a court in the Ecuadorian Amazon in 2021, which recognized the human rights violations caused by the flares and their contribution to GHG emissions that exacerbate global warming.
Three years later, these activists continue their struggle because compliance with the ruling is still a broken promise. Despite the order to gradually remove the flares, starting with those located closer to populated centres, gas flares continue to pollute the region, perpetuating negative health impacts for communities and the environment.
In a world that is on the brink of climate collapse, the actions being carried out by these girls and young women from the Amazon, and their courage in standing up to the state and to the national oil company Petroecuador, remind us that climate justice is, above all, a human rights issue. Their resistance shows us that a better world is possible, but achieving it will require the collective efforts of governments, companies and citizens.
No time to lose
In its December 2024 New Year message, the United Nations declared that the hottest years on record have occurred in the last decade, since 2014. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed 2024 as the warmest year on record, overtaking the previous record for 2023, with more hurricanes, storms, wildfires, floods and other disasters linked to climate change.
The time to act is now. The flames from the flares are a warning that business as usual not only perpetuates the damage but also brings us ever closer to a point of no return.
It is time for the government of President Daniel Noboa to act decisively, not only to comply with its obligations on national and international human rights and the rights of nature, but also to guarantee a dignified future for all people, especially for the children and youth who are paying for a climate crisis they did not cause. A future that also hinges on the urgent elimination of fossil fuels.
The ruling in the flares case is clear, the science is undeniable, and time is running out. The affected communities, the young activists who are risking their lives for the Amazon and future generations expect more than words. They demand concrete action and a meaningful timetable for removing the flares, starting with those that are poisoning homes and schools. President Noboa holds the key to responding to the courageous stance of these nine young women who are speaking out against the dangerous and unnecessary flares. It is time for Ecuador to remove the flares of injustice and ignite life.
This article was originally published in EL PAÍS.
Header image: Gas flaring at a Petroecuador oil field in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest. Photo by Francois Ancellet/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images.
