Climate Litigation Cases in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Institute of Amazonian Studies (IEA) filed a public climate civil action with the Federal Court of Curitiba, Paraná, against the Federal Union (Brazilian Federal Government), for non-compliance with the climate goals on the reduction of deforestation in the Amazon, established in the Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm, for its acronym in Portuguese), -one of the instruments of the National Climate Change Policy of Brazil-, which correspond to the reduction by the year 2020, of 80% of the average of the annual

Six activists from the organizations Fridays for Future and Engajamundo filed a class action lawsuit against the Brazilian government for changes to its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted in 2020, alleging that they used a “carbon maneuver” to lower the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets adopted in their previous NDC of 2015.

In 2018, the Waorani people of Pastaza sued the Ecuadorian state for attempting to auction their lands for oil exploration without conducting a prior, free, and informed consultation, as required by the Constitution and international treaties. They also argued that the state violated their right to a healthy environment, failed to fulfill its responsibilities, and failed to protect their ancestral territories and biodiversity.

In 2018, with the support and solidarity of other Indigenous nations and organizations aligned with the struggle, representatives of the A'i Cofán Sinangoe people filed a writ of amparo (a constitutional protection action) against five ministries and government agencies, seeking the suspension of several mining concessions granted in the riverine areas of the Aguarico, Chingual, and Cofanes rivers.

In July 2024, Indigenous communities belonging to the Tucabaca Municipal Wildlife Reserve and Natural Heritage Conservation Unit filed a class-action lawsuit against the mining company Walfremar SRL. This action stemmed from the fact that the Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority (AJAM), under the Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy, had authorized mining activity in the municipality of Roboré, Chiquitos province, Santa Cruz department.

The Brazilian organizations Arayara, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), and the Rio dos Pardos Indigenous Territory – Kupli Village filed a public civil action (ACP) against the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), and the Federal Union.

In December 2022, twelve Pastos people from the Cumbal, Mayasquer, Panam and Chiles reserves in Nariño, Colombia, learned of the existence of a contract between the authority of the indigenous community of Gran Cumbal and SVP Business SAS for the purchase of carbon bonds related to the REDD+ project “Pachamama Cumbal”.

The Civil Association, San Nicolás Environmental Forum (FOMEA) filed a legal action against the company Atanor SCA, which it accuses of generating pollution and environmental damage in the region.

In 2012, the Porta Hermanos SA factory expanded its facilities to begin producing ethanol derived from the milling and fermentation of genetically modified corn (bioethanol). This production shift encroached upon various communal spaces in the San Antonio and Inaudi neighborhoods where it is located, and profoundly altered the community's social dynamics.

The organization FIMA, representing the Civil Society of the Huasco Environmental and Social Reparation Council, the Huasco Ecological Assembly (CRAS Huasco), and Huasco Consciente, filed a protective action against AES GENER SA. The action alleges that the company's actions deprive, disrupt, and threaten the exercise of their rights to use and enjoy their intangible property rights, including their rights to life, physical and mental integrity, and an environment free from pollution. They further allege the deprivation of their right to health protection.