Climate Litigation Cases in Latin America and the Caribbean

A group of children and young people residing in Xochimilco, Mexico City, filed an injunction against the construction of the Periférico-Cuemanco vehicular bridge, which would be located in the Xochimilco borough of Mexico City. The project was authorized by the Mexico City Ministry of Public Works and Services and awarded to the company IDINSA SA de CV.

Two Mexican citizens filed a lawsuit seeking amparo (a constitutional remedy) against the removal, filling, and fragmentation of the mangrove forest located in Laguna del Carpintero in Tamaulipas. This action stemmed from the illegal construction—which lacked the required environmental impact authorization—of the Laguna del Carpintero Ecological Theme Park.

On March 11, 2024, the representative of the community of San Bartolo Coyotepec in the State of Oaxaca filed a petition for amparo (a constitutional protection action) alleging a violation of their human right to a healthy environment due to the failure of municipal, state, and federal authorities to protect Benito Juárez National Park and the Ecological Reserve Zone and Protected Natural Area.

The Supreme Court of Justice of Panama, in a ruling of November 27, 2023, declared Article 1 of Law 406 of October 20, 2023, unconstitutional.

This law approved the mining concession contract between the Panamanian State and the company Minera Panamá, SA, and granted exclusive rights for the exploration, exploitation and extraction of gold, copper and other minerals in the area of "Cerro Petaquilla", located in the district of Donoso, in the province of Colón, Panama.

In 2015, a Peruvian farmer filed a lawsuit in the Essen District Court in Germany against the energy company Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk (RWE). The plaintiff alleged that the company contributed to climate change by emitting substantial volumes of greenhouse gases and bore some responsibility for the melting of mountain glaciers near the city of Huaraz. This melting led to an increase in the volume of the Palcacocha glacial lake, causing flooding in the area.

Marco Antonio Arana Zegarra filed a writ of amparo against Directoral Resolution 351-2010-MEM/AAM, dated October 27, 2010, issued by the Directorate of Environmental Affairs of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, which approves the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) of the Conga Project presented by Minera Yanacocha SRL

A group of minors (born between 2005 and 2011) represented by their parents filed a constitutional appeal against the Peruvian State, demanding its failure to formulate and implement a national public policy and regional action plans with concrete measures to stop the deforestation of the Peruvian Amazon.

In 2018, the City of Bucaramanga filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the National Environmental Licensing Authority, and two regional environmental authorities (the Regional Autonomous Corporation for the Defense of the Bucaramanga Plateau - CDMB and the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Norte de Santander - CORPONOR), seeking protection for the Santurbán Páramo from mining activities.

Guyanese scientist Dr. Troy Thomas filed a lawsuit against Guyana's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Supreme Court, alleging that the 23-year permits the EPA had granted to Esso Exploration (an Exxon subsidiary) for oil exploration violated the Environmental Protection Act regulations, which limited the duration of such permits to 5 years.

This is a Public Civil Action (ACP) filed by the organizations Costa Legal, UFECO, and the Pachamama Association, with legal support from GPDA and OJE/UFSC. Subsequently, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF), the Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Santa Catarina (MPSC), and the National Association of People Affected by Dams (ANAB) joined the action.