A group of eight NGOs —including Greenpeace, WWF and the country's main indigenous organization— filed a lawsuit in a Brazilian federal court to request the annulment of the permit granted to Petrobras, a state-owned company, to search for oil in a maritime area near the mouth of the Amazon River.
According to the complaint, the authorization ignores the climate impact of oil extraction in the area, which translates into increased greenhouse gas emissions or the damage from a possible oil spill in an extremely sensitive ecosystem.
On the other hand, the organizations point out that when allowing oil activity, the indigenous peoples of the region were not consulted in a "free, prior and informed" manner, which goes against the international treaties signed by the Brazilian State.
They also argue that 20% of the crude oil extracted from the well, located about 500 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon, would sink and could affect the Amazonian coral reef system.
The Ministry of Environment assured that the project's licensing process, which lasted almost five years, was carried out with "rigor" and that Petrobras had introduced improvements to respond to hypothetical emergencies.
More information here and here .
A group of eight NGOs —including Greenpeace, WWF and the country's main indigenous organization— filed a lawsuit in a Brazilian federal court to request the annulment of the permit granted to Petrobras, a state-owned company, to search for oil in a maritime area near the mouth of the Amazon River.
According to the complaint, the authorization ignores the climate impact of oil extraction in the area, which translates into increased greenhouse gas emissions or the damage from a possible oil spill in an extremely sensitive ecosystem.
On the other hand, the organizations point out that when allowing oil activity, the indigenous peoples of the region were not consulted in a "free, prior and informed" manner, which goes against the international treaties signed by the Brazilian State.
They also argue that 20% of the crude oil extracted from the well, located about 500 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon, would sink and could affect the Amazonian coral reef system.
The Ministry of Environment assured that the project's licensing process, which lasted almost five years, was carried out with "rigor" and that Petrobras had introduced improvements to respond to hypothetical emergencies.
More information here and here .