Climate Litigation Cases in Latin America and the Caribbean

A group of parents and children, members of the "Families for Climate" Movement, filed an "advance production of evidence action" against the government of São Paulo, to access the documents that motivate and support the "IncentivAuto" program of the government of São Paulo, sanctioned by Governor João Doria (PSBD), in order to access information for a possible litigation on the relevance of this tax incentive in the face of Brazil's obligations to reduce its carbon emissions.

The Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of São Paulo filed a civil lawsuit against sugarcane producers to prohibit the burning technique used in sugarcane harvesting. The lawsuit seeks to order the defendants to pay damages.

The Public Prosecutor's Office of Joinville promoted a public civil action against the corporation H. Carlos Schneider S/A Commerce and Industry and Others, for filling and draining a mangrove forest on an urban property, despite the fact that the environmental agencies Brazilian Institute of Forest Development (IBDF) and Santa Catarina Environment Institute (FATMA) issued negative technical notices to carry out works on said property.

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.

This landmark case was first filed in 1993. The lawsuit alleged that from 1964 to 1992, Texaco (acquired by Chevron in 2001) operated in the Ecuadorian Amazon, dumping more than 16 billion gallons of toxic waste and affecting approximately 30,000 people, including indigenous communities. It was one of the first rulings in Ecuador's history in which affected communities took on an oil company and won a court judgment.

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 2022, the Attorney General's Office and the Environmental Comptroller's Office filed a joint lawsuit before the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca requesting a declaration of non-compliance by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the President with their obligations under Law 1931 of 2018.

A group of grassroots organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private land users, activists, and independent professionals, grouped under the name Grenada Land Actors (GLA), sued the Planning and Development Authority because, between October 2019 and June 2023, it approved three large-scale development projects that threaten the environment and local communities located on Mount Hartman in St. George, in La Sagesse in St. David's, and in Levera in St.

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.