DF Brazil
The Attorney General's Office, with the support of civil society organizations, filed a direct action of unconstitutionality (No. 6148) against the Federal Government for its unconstitutional omission regarding Resolution No. 491/2018 of the National Environmental Council, which establishes air quality parameters. The omissions were alleged to be of three kinds: (i) the absence of mechanisms to allow for the updating of the quality parameters; (ii) the absence of mechanisms to monitor compliance with the parameters within the national territory; and (iii) the inadequacy of the parameters in light of the new guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) addressing the effects of greenhouse gases on human health (2021). The ruling was unfavorable to the plaintiffs. The Supreme Federal Court decided that there was no unconstitutionality due to omission in the Resolution, but noted that the regulation is "on the path to becoming unconstitutional." Thus, the Court set a two-year deadline for CONAMA to make changes to the regulation, adding mechanisms for periodic updates, broad oversight, and new protection parameters in accordance with the most recent WHO guidelines (2021).
The litigation against CONAMA Resolution No. 491/2018 in Brazil, which establishes national air quality standards, is a key case of environmental and climate litigation in the country. It was challenged for being considered insufficient to protect human health and the environment, failing to align with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) . [ 1 , 2 ,3 , 4 , 5 ]
The litigation has forced a technical review of air pollution standards in Brazil, moving them towards stricter international parameters.
In May 2022, the STF decided that, while the resolution was not unconstitutional in itself , it was unconstitutional due to partial omission by not guaranteeing the protection of health.
Implementation
The Court set a two-year deadline for the National Environmental Council (CONAMA) to modify the regulation, add updating mechanisms, expand oversight and protection parameters in accordance with the guidelines established by the World Health Organization.
- Update (CONAMA 506/2024): As a result of judicial pressure, CONAMA published Resolution No. 506 of July 2024, which updates air quality standards and establishes new compliance phases.
- Implementation: This new standard establishes intermediate standards until the end of 2024, with the goal of reaching stricter standards by 2044.
The Court understands that air quality is a fundamental factor in the realization of socio-environmental rights, which must be understood in an economic sense (air quality as a variable dependent on inequality), in a social sense (the centrality of air to human health), and in an environmental sense (air as a global public good, whose protection is an important part of climate protection). The Paris Agreement is seen as a supralegal norm that addresses fundamental human rights.
- Attorney General's Office
- Federal Public Ministry (PGR/MPF)
- Union (federal public administration)
- President of the National Environmental Council (CONAMA)
It impacts the entire Brazilian territory.
- Paris Agreement
- WHO global air quality guidelines (2021)
- Brazilian Constitution of 1988 (especially its article 225)
- National Climate Change Policy (PNMC), Law No. 12187/2009
- National Environmental Policy (PNMA), Law No. 6938/1981