DF Brazil
Political parties filed an Allegation of Noncompliance with the Fundamental Precept (ADPF, for its acronym in Portuguese) against the Union, given that it has not adopted urgent measures aimed at effectively combating deforestation in the legal Amazon and the climate emergency.
Specifically, the action presented aims at the effective implementation of the State's public policy to combat deforestation in the Legal Amazon, specifically the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm) to make it possible to meet the climate objectives assumed by Brazil before the world community in international agreements and internalized by national legislation.
The arguments presented by the plaintiffs include: a) Absolutely deficient state action (reduction of environmental inspection and control); b) Acts of omission and commission to make the application of the PPCDAm impossible, including the dismantling of federal agencies and entities; c) The non-application of the available budget and freezing of public policy funding; d) Regulatory acts intended to make sufficient state action unfeasible; e) Acts of omission and commission that violate the fundamental rights of information and participation in environmental matters; and f) The “extinção branca” (white extinction) of the PPCDAm. Among the various calls for action is the end of illegal deforestation in the Legal Amazon by 2030, compliance with Brazil's commitment to the Paris Agreement by 2023: to meet the goal of 3,925 km² of annual deforestation rate in the Legal Amazon, corresponding to an 80% reduction in annual rates in relation to the average verified between 1996 and 2005.
Due to the relevance of the demand and the specificity of the matter, different organizations formed a coalition, which will participate in the process through an Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court).
The Federal Supreme Court received the legal action and published a decision in which it recognized the representativeness of the applicants as lawyers specifically trained for the purpose, and accepted the different organizations as having been presented through Amicus Curiae.
On April 6, 2022, the Minister overseeing the case, after acknowledging the unconstitutionality of illegal deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest, requested that the Union and the relevant federal bodies and entities formulate and submit a plan for the effective and satisfactory implementation of the PPCDAm (Program for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon) "with the measures to be adopted for the resumption of environmental monitoring and enforcement activities and the fight against crimes in the ecosystem, safeguarding the rights of indigenous peoples." The Minister indicated that the plan must include a timeline with goals, objectives, deadlines, monitoring, budget allocation, and other information necessary for planning until December 2023.
This case belongs to a group of strategic litigation cases known in Brazil as the “green package” (“Green Guide”).
Implementation
The agreement was published on June 26, 2024, and the process is currently in the phase of compliance with the decision, monitoring the implementation of the measures ordered to protect the Amazon and the rights of traditional peoples and communities.
The legal action filed contains specific arguments regarding climate change; for example, it highlights the importance of the ecosystem services provided by the Amazon, which are essential for ensuring ecological and climate balance at the local, regional, and global levels. It states that deforestation in the Amazon produces irreversible negative consequences at the local and regional levels, reducing and eliminating the ecosystem services provided by the forests, especially the hydrological cycle, which is essential for regulating the local, regional, and global climate.
It also argues that deforestation represents the main Brazilian source of gas emissions that cause climate change and that omissions and actions contrary to fundamental precepts violate the rights of indigenous peoples and traditional communities, as well as the fundamental rights of present and future generations in Brazil.
- Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB)
- Sustainability Network
- Democratic Labour Party (PDT)
- Green Party (PV)
- Workers' Party (PT)
- Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL)
- Communist Party of Brazil.
- The Union (Federal Public Administration) .
According to the legal action filed, the Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest, representing 67% of the remaining tropical forest area and spanning nine South American countries. Brazil possesses 60% of the Amazonian territory, ranking first globally among countries with tropical forests. Beyond its natural wealth, the preservation of the Amazon is essential to guaranteeing the lives and cultural diversity of the "People of the Forest." There are 188 Indigenous groups, totaling approximately 505,000 people from 38 different language families and a wide variety of traditional communities, including quilombola communities, extractive communities, river dwellers, babaçueiros, and Brazil nut harvesters, among others.
Standards
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
- Paris Agreement.
- Advisory Opinion 23/17 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the Environment and Human Rights.
- UN 2030 Agenda - Sustainable Development Goals
- Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil.
- Law No. 9.882/1999.
Beginning
- Intergenerational equity.
- Solidarity.
- Caution.
- Prevention .
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