Thwarted markets in everything

Or so I predict:

Ecuador has taken a decision that no other oil-endowed country has so far considered. It will refrain from developing the reserves beneath Yasuni national park and leave the forest untouched, if the outside world will compensate the country with half the money it would thereby forgo.

Extracting the oil would yield $7.2bn for Ecuador’s government. Rafael Correa, president, is asking for $3.6bn over 13 years in return for leaving the reserves in the ground.

I could be wrong about my prediction of the outcome; if not the inability of the international community to do such deals does not augur well for our future: "…unless the first $100m arrives by the end of this year, the proposal will die."  So far some token amounts have been raised, most of all from Spain.

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