Climate Litigation Cases in Latin America and the Caribbean

This case involves a petition (PET) filed with the Supreme Federal Court (STF) by Senators Fabiano Contarato and Randolph Frederich Rodrigues Alves, and Representative Joenia Batista de Carvalho, seeking an investigation into alleged misconduct by Ricardo Salles, then Brazil's Minister of the Environment. The petitioners argued that Salles's actions while serving as Minister violated the duty of administrative probity and decorum required of the office, particularly regarding Brazilian climate and environmental policy.

This is a Public Civil Action, with a request for urgent protection, promoted by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) against the State of Amazonas and the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), with the objective of suspending the carbon credits/REDD+ project implemented by the Secretariat of the Environment of the State of Amazonas (SEMA/AM) in state conservation units inhabited by indigenous peoples, river dwellers and traditional communities.

In August 2024, the Arayara International Institute filed a Public Civil Action (ACP) against the company Copel Generación y Transmisión SA, the Paraná Water and Land Institute (IAT), the State of Paraná, the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) and the Federal Union, alleging serious irregularities in the licensing and operation of the Figueira Thermoelectric Power Plant (UTE-FRA), located in Figueira (PR).

In 2010, the Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of São Paulo (MPSP) filed a Public Civil Action against KLM – a Dutch airline – alleging environmental damage resulting from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by its aircraft landing and takeoff operations at São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport. The MPSP's primary request was that the company be ordered to reforest an area sufficient to fully absorb its emissions, or, alternatively, to pay compensation for the environmental damage caused.

The Brazilian Association of Fuel Distributors (BRASILCOM) filed a Collective Security Mandate action against the Minister of Mines and Energy, in his capacity as President of the National Council for Energy Policy (CNPE).

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.

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) filed a Public Civil Action against the State of Pará and the Municipality of Santarém to demand that environmental permits for port and waterway projects in Santarém include mandatory environmental, climate, Indigenous, and Quilombola impact studies, as well as free, prior, and informed consultation (FPIC) with potentially affected traditional peoples and communities.

The organization Observatório do Clima filed a Public Civil Action against the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) and the Federal Union, seeking to compel the Brazilian government to update its National Climate Change Plan (Plano Nacional sobre Mudança do Clima or Plano Clima). The central argument was that the current plan, developed in 2008, was outdated in light of Law 12.187/2009 (PNMC), the National Environmental Policy, the Paris Agreement, and recent scientific evidence presented by the IPCC in the AR6 report.

The Arayara International Institute filed a Public Civil Action (ACP) with a request for urgent protection against the Water, Energy and Sanitation Regulatory Agency of the Federal District (ADASA) and the company Termo Norte Energía Ltda. The main objective is to annul the water resource use permits granted by ADASA to the company for water intake and effluent discharge into the Melchior River, intended for the project to install a natural gas-fired thermoelectric power plant in Samambaia (DF).

The Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) filed an Action for Noncompliance with Fundamental Precept (ADPF) with a request for precautionary measures, against the Federal Union and the State of São Paulo, due to omissions and commissions that violate the constitutional duty to protect the Cerrado and Mata Atlântica biomes, seriously affected by the forest fires that occurred in 2024.