DF Brazil
The REDE party filed a lawsuit against Presidential Decree 10.224/2020, which modified the composition of the National Environmental Fund's (FNMA) deliberative council, excluding civil society participation. Before the decree, the council was composed of 17 representatives—9 from the government and 8 from civil society—ensuring social oversight of the use of public funds allocated to socio-environmental projects throughout the country. With the modification, civil society representatives were completely eliminated, creating an imbalance with respect to other represented social sectors.
The party argued that this exclusion directly affects the principle of direct popular participation in the development of environmental public policies, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Furthermore, the legal action also addressed Decree 10.239/2020, which removed the participation of governors from the National Council of the Legal Amazon, and Decree 10.223/2020, which dissolved the Amazon Fund Steering Committee.
The Federal Supreme Court (STF) declared these regulations unconstitutional, stating that they exclude civil society and government officials from the development and formulation of public policies, thus reducing their control and oversight. The Constitution establishes that the government and the community have a duty to preserve and protect the environment, which is only possible if society participates in the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of environmental policies. The Constitution also provides for environmental education and public awareness as tools for environmental preservation.
According to the STF, environmental protection measures should promote the participation of civil society, and excluding its representatives from environmental bodies transfers decisions exclusively to the Executive Branch, affecting the plural, critical and diverse character in the formulation, execution and supervision of public policies.
Based on this, the STF declared: Unconstitutionality of Article 5 of Decree 10.224/2020; Unconstitutionality of Decree 10.239/2020, in the part that excludes the governors of the National Council of the Legal Amazon; Unconstitutionality of subsection CCII of Article 1 of Decree 10.223/2020, in the part that extinguishes the Amazon Fund Guidance Committee.
In summary, the decision reaffirms the need for the participation of civil society and governors in the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of environmental policies, preserving the plurality, oversight, and democratic nature of these bodies. This case belongs to a group of strategic litigation cases known in Brazil as the "green package" ("Green Guidelines").
The Deliberative Council of the National Environmental Fund (FNMA), along with other government agencies, is responsible for protecting the environment and ensuring its preservation for future generations, as established by Article 225 of the Federal Constitution. The challenged regulation reduced public participation in the areas that matter most: the environment (which is a right of all, according to Article 225 of the Constitution), culture (which should also be managed democratically, according to Article 216-A of the Constitution), and numerous other sectors.
- Political Party Rede Sustentabilidade (REDE)
- President of the Republic
The National Environmental Fund (FNMA) is a unit of the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), created by Law No. 7,797 of July 10, 1989 and regulated by Decree No. 10,224 of February 5, 2020. Its mission is to contribute, as a financing agent and through social participation, to the implementation of the National Environmental Policy (PNMA).
The FNMA is the oldest environmental fund in Latin America and is distinguished by its transparent and democratic project selection process. Its deliberative council, composed of 21 representatives from the government and civil society, ensures social oversight of the use of public funds allocated to socio-environmental projects throughout the country, which includes sensitive ecosystems such as the Amazon, the Cerrado, the Pantanal, the Pampas, the Atlantic Forest, and coastal areas.
Its main objective is to develop projects that promote the rational and sustainable use of natural resources, including the maintenance, improvement or recovery of environmental quality.
Constitution of Brazil
Paris Agreement (Federal Decree 9.073/2017)
UNFCCC (Federal Decree 2,652/1998)
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