RS Brazil
This Public Civil Action was presented by the organizations: Arayara, the Poty Guarani Indigenous Association and, later, the CAPG and the Guarani Guajayvi Community, against the National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI), the company Copelmi Mineração Ltda. and the State Foundation for Environmental Protection (FEPAM). The central objective of the action is the suspension and annulment of the environmental licensing process of the Guaíba Mine Project, considered the largest open pit coal mining undertaking in Brazil. The author organizations allege multiple irregularities in the Environmental Impact Study (EIA), especially the absence of an Indigenous Component Study (ECI) and the lack of prior, free and informed consultation with the Mbyá Guarani Guajayvi community, located less than 3 km from the area planned for the mine.
The project was in the Preliminary Licensing phase with FEPAM, which had held public hearings without ensuring the effective participation of the affected Indigenous community, despite explicit requests from the Guajayvi Village to present their concerns. The associations maintain that coal mining generates serious environmental, climatic, and sociocultural impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, damage to surface and groundwater, acid mine drainage, and land degradation, directly affecting Indigenous lives, health, and ways of life. They also argue that the project violates the Brazilian Constitution and international norms, especially ILO Convention 169, which requires prior consultation for decisions affecting Indigenous peoples.
The federal judge initially granted an injunction suspending the licensing process, ordering FUNAI to analyze the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and guarantee prior consultation before any further proceedings. In its final ruling, the court reaffirmed that the lack of prior consultation and a specific impact assessment on the Guajayvi community invalidated the entire process from the outset, declaring the licensing null and void. The decision emphasized that FUNAI's mere formal participation does not replace the obligation to directly consult with the affected community.
Copelmi appealed the ruling, alleging the absence of damages and lack of standing. However, in 2025, the Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region upheld the ruling, reiterating the need to respect the principles of precaution, democratic participation, and the protection of Indigenous rights. The suspension of the license was ratified, highlighting the seriousness of the omissions and the direct impact on the Indigenous community.
In June 2025, the ruling reaffirmed the suspension of the environmental license for the Guaíba Mining Project, due to the lack of prior, free, and informed participation of the affected Indigenous communities in the project, as well as the failure to conduct the Indigenous Component Study (ECI) in conjunction with the Environmental Impact Assessment/Environmental Impact Report (EIA/RIMA). The appeal and the incidental appeal were dismissed.
Implementation
The final ruling that declared the environmental licensing process for the Guaíba Mine Project null and void has been formally implemented in its main aspect: the licensing procedure was archived by FEPAM. This prevents the project from advancing in any administrative phase while the irregularities identified by the Judiciary persist, especially the absence of the Indigenous Component Study (ECI) and the lack of prior, free, and informed consultation with the Mbyá Guarani Guajayvi community.
Furthermore, the practical implementation of the ruling is facilitated by the fact that the project has not been resumed or reactivated by the Copelmi company, which reduces the administrative and judicial pressure on compliance. However, structural and regulatory challenges remain that hinder the full realization of the rights protected in the ruling.
Among the main challenges are: (i) the repeated institutional fragility in the environmental licensing processes in Rio Grande do Sul, especially regarding prior consultation and indigenous participation; (ii) the absence of consolidated and binding protocols for specific consultation with Mbyá Guarani peoples; (iii) the need to strengthen FUNAI's role in licensing contexts; and (iv) the constant political and economic pressure linked to large mining and fossil energy projects.
Although the court decision was fully implemented, the risks of setbacks persist if institutional mechanisms for territorial, climate, and cultural protection for the affected communities are not consolidated.
In the Public Civil Action filed by the Arayara Association for Education and Culture and the Poty Guaraní Indigenous Association against FUNAI, Copelmi Mineração Ltda., and FEPAM, climate-related arguments played a significant role in justifying the need to suspend and annul the environmental license for the Guaíba Mine Project, considered the largest open-pit coal mine in the country. The plaintiff organizations assert that coal mining has a high climate impact, both on the soil due to its contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and due to its collateral effects on local ecosystems and the livelihoods of Indigenous communities.
Among the main points raised, it was emphasized that coal mining generates significant methane emissions, as well as risks of leaks, spills, acid mine drainage, contamination of surface and groundwater, and irreversible degradation of soil and biodiversity. These impacts, directly or indirectly, exacerbate the climate crisis and violate the Gaúcho State Policy on Climate Change (State Law 13.594/2010), which mandates that the state reduce emissions and protect sensitive areas from polluting activities .
Furthermore, the authors emphasized that the project would affect the region's climate resilience, jeopardizing essential water resources and weakening ecosystem services that contribute to territorial adaptation to extreme weather events. They pointed out that the failure to incorporate the Indigenous Component Study (ECI) into the EIA/RIMA implies ignoring the climate vulnerability of the Guajayvi Village and the central role that Indigenous territories play in the conservation of ecosystems that act as carbon sinks.
Although the ruling did not explicitly address the climate dimension, it did incorporate elements related to the precautionary principle, the protection of vulnerable communities from serious environmental risks, and the need for robust, participatory environmental licensing based on broad socio-environmental criteria. By declaring the licensing process null and void, the Court reaffirmed that omissions such as the lack of prior, free, and informed consultation, and the absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), compromise the validity of the entire impact assessment—including climate effects—by failing to adequately consider structural risks to the environment and Indigenous communities. In doing so, the judicial decision indirectly aligns with climate protection by preventing the advancement of a project with a high potential to exacerbate the climate crisis and violate socio-environmental rights.
- Arayara International Institute
- Poty Guaraní Indigenous Association
- Articulation Council of the Guarani People (CAPG)
- Guajayvi Guarani People Community
- National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI)
- Copelmi Mineração Ltda.
- State Foundation for Environmental Protection (FEPAM)
The Guaíba Mine Project is a coal, sand, and gravel mining initiative in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in the municipalities of Charqueadas and Eldorado do Sul, covering an area of over 4,300 hectares. This project, led by Copelmi Mineração, seeks the extraction and use of coal, but faces environmental debates due to potential impacts on aquifers and air pollution. While promising economic benefits and jobs, its environmental and social viability, including its potential for use in cleaner technologies, is under discussion.
International agreements/treaties
- International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169
National laws
- Federal Constitution of 1988
- National Environmental Policy (Lei 6.938/1981)
- CONAMA Resolutions
- State Law 13,594/2010 — Gaucho Policy on Climate Changes
- Environmental licensing rules applied by FEPAM
- FUNAI Reference Thermoses
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