Since the initiative launch three years ago, Ecuador has maintained a consistent request: In exchange for keeping the ITT crude oil in the ground in perpetuity, the Ecuadorian government seeks around $3.5 billion over the next 10 or so years from the international community, which represents half of the expected revenue.

The vast majority of ITT oil, if exploited, would most likely be burned by American drivers. In 2009, Ecuador was the 13th-largest supplier of U.S. oil.

By September 2009, the German government had pledged $50 million over 13 years to the initiative and Spanish officials were considering a plan to pledge $18 million over the same time period. Numerous other countries were reportedly interested as well, such as France, Italy, Sweden and Belgium.

December 2009 was poised to be a major turning point in the life of the initiative as Ecuador was set to sign off on a trust fund agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This trust fund would add a great deal of credibility and reliability to interested, but still skeptical contributors, by having a UN body collect and manage the incoming funds.

This trust fund would also establish the critical mechanism of reimbursing contributors should a future Ecuadorian administration decide to break the agreement and drill — which in theory would then serve as a major deterrent for that disgraceful scenario from ever actually happening (because the government would have to pay out big bucks years before attempting to cash in on ITT).

The trust fund was to be signed at the center of the environmental world at that time, the Copenhagen climate summit. But at the joint Ecuador-UNDP press conference, oddly, nothing was actually signed. And then all hell broke loose.

During his weekly radio address on January 9, 2010, President Correa informed the world that he had personally given the order to his team in Copenhagen to reject the trust fund agreement. He criticized the terms as “shameful” and charged that they “threatened the sovereignty” of the country.

Ecuador was set to sign off on a trust fund agreement with the United Nations Development Programme that would add a great deal of credibility and reliability to the initiative.

Correa’s criticisms centered on the composition of the trust fund board, which did not give Ecuador a decision-making majority on how the money would be spent. All the members of the high-level negotiating team, including Correa’s foreign minister Fander Falconí, immediately resigned due to the harsh and very public words aimed at their work.

The rest of January 2010 was a tumultuous time, as all eyes were on President Correa to see if the Yasuní-ITT Initiative was dead or to be revived. The day-to-day drama was headline news for weeks within Ecuador. Bitter words were exchanged between the Correa administration and some of the initiative’s originators and most vocal supporters.

Was Correa slyly trying to torpedo the initiative at a critical moment to facilitate oil drilling, or was he still committed to the initiative but truly just didn’t like the set-up of the trust fund?

Fortunately, it appears to be the latter, as by early February 2010, the initiative was back on its feet. President Correa signed a decree inducting a new high-level team, including a more prominent role for his Vice President Lenin Moreno, an ardent supporter who just so happened to be born in a remote jungle town within the ITT oil block.

The decree also did away with any short-term time limits, giving the new team space to breathe and backing off of earlier threats to cut off the initiative if not successful by June 2010.

A sophisticated new three-pronged team headed by Moreno was established, consisting of an international negotiation team, an intra-governmental team, and a technical team. The international negotiating team is headed by Ivonne Baki, a pick criticized by environmental groups due to her previous support of Texaco in the grueling oil contamination law suit crawling through an Ecuadorian court.

President Correa signed a decree inducting a new high-level team, including a more prominent role for Vice President Lenin Moreno.

After being tapped as lead negotiator, however, she quickly emerged as a vocal supporter for the initiative, arguing “not a drop will leave ITT” if negotiations go well, and quickly set off to Europe and the Middle East alongside Moreno to lobby potential contributors.

By the end of February, there was more good news as members of all parties of the German parliament restated their support for the initiative after being assured by the Ecuadorian ambassador that everything was back on track. President Correa also announced in March that he personally will promote the initiative again and that his preferred option A is still to keep the ITT oil underground.

Part of Correa’s quick turn-around after his harsh words in January may be the overwhelming public support for the initiative. A recent poll found that 75% of Ecuadorians would vote against drilling ITT if it came down to a referendum.

March 2010 saw the interesting twist of seeking the financing from petroleum-rich Middle East countries such as Iran and United Arab Emirates, along with obtaining the support of OPEC, of which Ecuador is the smallest member.

In recent months, all attention has been on the negotiations around the new trust fund between Ecuador and the UNDP. Press reports indicate that Ecuador would have a decision-making majority on issues of funding dispersal.

As of the time of this writing, this new Ecuador-UNDP trust fund has still not been signed, but there have been reports that President Correa has approved the changes, signing is imminent, and countries such as Germany, Spain, Belgium and Turkey have confirmed their intention of economic support.

A recent poll found that 75% of Ecuadorians would vote against drilling ITT.

The United States has been quiet about any position regarding the Yasuní-ITT Initiative. However, there is an interesting, but little-known, Yasuní-US connection. The vast majority of ITT oil, if exploited, would most likely be burned by American drivers. In 2009, Ecuador sent 182,000 barrels of crude oil a day to the United States and was their 13th largest supplier worldwide.

The oil in ITT is heavy crude and would surely be transported from the Amazon to the Pacific coastal port via the heavy crude pipeline, known as OCP. In 2009, over 70% of the oil transported in the OCP pipeline went to the US.

Drilling for oil in the world’s most biodiverse wilderness area so it can end up being burned in American cars, whose drivers are completely unaware that their commute is driving rainforest destruction, is a dreadful thought.

Thus, it seems appropriate for the US to take a more active role in ensuring the Yasuní-ITT Initiative is a success. This could be an opportunity for President Obama to take a step forward on climate change leadership and to extend a diplomatic hand to Latin America.