Civil Association vs. Peruvian State (Ministry of the Environment) for non-compliance with REDD+ and Climate Finance climate regulations

The First Specialized Constitutional Court of Lima declared two compliance actions filed by the Institute for Legal Defense of the Environment and Sustainable Development Peru (IDLADS) to be founded, so that the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) would implement the Tenth and Seventeenth Final Complementary Provision of the Regulation of the Framework Law on Climate Change, approved by Supreme Decree No. 013-2019-MINAM (RLMCC).

In this regard, by failing to comply with the RLMCC, MINAM omitted to develop and approve the guidelines, methodological documents, guides, or procedures related to climate change, concerning:

• The formulation and/or updating of the NDCs.
• The inclusion of adaptation and mitigation measures in the formulation and updating of policies, strategies, plans, programs and projects.
• Monitoring, evaluation and reporting of policies, strategies, plans, programs and projects that incorporate adaptation and mitigation measures.
• Tools for monitoring and evaluating adaptation measures.
• The operation of the National Registry of Mitigation Measures, which includes mitigation measures related to the reduction of emissions and removal of GHGs in forests.
• The quantification and estimation of the direct and indirect costs and benefits of adaptation and mitigation measures.
• The strategic and complementary use of resources from international climate funds to implement mitigation and adaptation measures.

Furthermore, regarding climate finance, the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) should have issued guidelines for the strategic and complementary use of resources from international climate funds to implement mitigation and adaptation measures. It should also have issued guidelines for monitoring and reporting climate finance from private sources.

On the other hand, in relation to the Seventeenth Final Complementary Provision: On the regulatory proposal for the classification and sanction of actions related to sanctionable acts or conduct on forest carbon capture or sequestration and REDD+ , the Regulation establishes that the MINAM, in coordination with the national representative organizations of the indigenous or native peoples, in accordance with ILO Convention 169, should prepare a regulatory proposal that would allow the classification and sanction of actions related to sanctionable acts or conduct on forest carbon capture or sequestration and REDD+, -in compliance with the safeguards-, to be presented to the corresponding authorities within a period of one hundred and eighty (180) working days counted from the approval of the Regulation.

In that sense, the ruling in favor of these two compliance actions adds to other climate litigation processes promoted by civil society, such as compliance with the Sixteenth Final Complementary Provision of the Regulation, which establishes the creation of a guarantee fund for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, with the participation of indigenous and native peoples.

It is worth mentioning that all of this was part of the commitments assumed by the Peruvian State within the framework of the prior consultation process of the RLMCC, in response to the proposals of the indigenous and native peoples.

Thus, after more than 46 months had passed since the deadline established in the Climate Change Regulations expired - almost 5 years to date - the plaintiffs requested that MINAM comply with the provisions of the compliance actions declared founded by the Superior Court of Justice of Lima.

Implementation

These rulings compel the Peruvian State to fulfill its climate obligations, especially in a context where global warming is causing serious damage in Peru, which is one of the countries most vulnerable to this phenomenon.

Upon the claims being declared valid, the Ministry of Environment presented in December 2024 the Climate Finance Strategy Project for the implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures, as well as the guidelines for the strategic and complementary use of resources from international climate funds.

The ruling orders government authorities to prioritize measures to strengthen governance and comply with REDD+ and Climate Finance regulations (which are fundamental to climate change mitigation). These actions also offer direct environmental benefits and economic opportunities for local communities through sustainable activities and job creation.

It is in this context that the implementation of these measures is fundamental for the Ministry of the Environment to develop guidelines, methodological documents, guides, or procedures for the implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures, as well as to reduce the damages and losses associated with the impacts of climate change and the mitigation of GHGs.

• Institute for the Legal Defense of the Environment and Sustainable Development Peru – IDLADS Peru.
• Socio-environmental Fund of Peru.
  

• Ministry of the Environment
• Public Prosecutor's Office of the Ministry of the Environment

According to data from the Peruvian government , REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) projects have become one of the most successful initiatives in the effective management of protected natural areas. They highlight that REDD+ in Peru has prevented the deforestation of 95,053 hectares of Amazon rainforest and generated 36.6 million carbon credits, which have financed the management of four protected natural areas under optimal conditions.

In this case, the ruling explicitly states the need to comply with the proposed regulations for the classification and sanctioning of punishable acts or conduct related to the capture or sequestration of forest carbon and REDD+. This is crucial, especially given the ongoing complaints from Indigenous organizations in the Amazon region regarding the signing of contracts for the sale and exploitation of carbon in Indigenous territories. These contracts exploit the lack of knowledge among native communities about the carbon market and infringe upon their collective rights.

National laws

• Political Constitution
• General Law of the Environment
• REGULATIONS OF LAW No. 30754, FRAMEWORK LAW ON CLIMATE CHANGE
• Law No. 30754

International agreements/treaties

• Paris Agreement
• Framework Law on Climate Change and its Regulations
• Kyoto Protocol
• Agenda 2030

Beginning

• Principle of prevention

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