Climate Litigation Cases in Latin America and the Caribbean

In 2020, Brazil's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) filed a "Civil Action of Administrative Imprudence" (ACIA) against Ricardo Salles, then Minister of the Environment, requesting his preventive removal from office.

This Public Civil Action was presented by the organizations: Arayara, the Poty Guarani Indigenous Association and, later, the CAPG and the Guarani Guajayvi Community, against the National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI), the company Copelmi Mineração Ltda. and the State Foundation for Environmental Protection (FEPAM). The central objective of the action is the suspension and annulment of the environmental licensing process of the Guaíba Mine Project, considered the largest open pit coal mining undertaking in Brazil.

The lawsuit is a Public Civil Action filed by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF), the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation, and ABRAMPA against the Federal Union, seeking to have Decree 4.410/2020, issued by the Ministry of the Environment, declared null and void.

In February 2021, Global Oil Environmental Services Guyana Inc. (GOES) applied for a permit to construct and operate a waste management facility for oil and gas exploration and production waste in Coverden. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not required for the project and issued the permit in August 2021.

Twenty-five young people from seventeen cities and municipalities in Colombia, with the support of the Center for Studies on Law, Justice and Society (Dejusticia), filed a tutela action against the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia; the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development; the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Regional Autonomous Corporations with jurisdiction in the Amazon; and fourteen municipalities in the Amazon that concentrate the highest percentage of deforestation in this region, to stop deforestation in the Amazon r

This is a Public Civil Action (PCA) with a request for urgent precautionary measures filed by the Federal Prosecutor's Office (FPO) against the Government and the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) in relation to the auction of the 5th Permanent Concession Offer (PCO) cycle held on June 17, 2025. It is argued that the auction should be suspended, particularly with regard to the sensitive areas comprising the 47 blocks located in the sedimentary basin of the mouth of the Amazon River.

This is a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (ADI) with a request for precautionary measures filed by the Communist Party of Brazil, Rede Sustentabilidade (REDE), the Green Party, and the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), seeking to have Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Law 12.709/2024 of the state of Mato Grosso declared unconstitutional.

This is a Public Civil Action (PCA) with a request for urgent precautionary measures filed by the Arayara International Institute of Education and Culture against the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), and the Federal Government. This action is part of a set of six PCAs filed against the 4th Permanent Bidding Cycle for oil exploration blocks.

This is a Public Civil Action (ACP) filed by the Public Ministry of São Paulo against the State of São Paulo and the Forest Foundation (Foundation for the Conservation and Production of Forests of the State of São Paulo), in response to the advance of serious erosion processes and ecological imbalance of the State Park Isla do Cardoso, located in the municipality of Cananéia, in the State of São Paulo, which impact the way of life and the security of the traditional communities of the region.

The organization El Puente Puerto Rico filed a Petition for Mandamus in the San Juan Court of First Instance against the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) and the Committee of Experts (CEACC), seeking compliance with Law 33-2019. They requested that the DRNA update and publish the Gas Inventory. After numerous procedural incidents, on November 18, 2022, the Court issued a Judgment granting the Mandamus requested by El Puente.