SP São Paulo Brazil
A group of parents and children, members of the "Families for Climate" Movement, filed an "advance production of evidence action" against the government of São Paulo, to access the documents that motivate and support the "IncentivAuto" program of the government of São Paulo, sanctioned by Governor João Doria (PSBD), in order to access information for a possible litigation on the relevance of this tax incentive in the face of Brazil's obligations to reduce its carbon emissions.
The program was created to prevent the defeat of major automakers like Ford, which ended its operations in São Bernardo do Campo in October 2019. The main demand of the complainants is access to documents related to the program, as it is apparently illegal "for not respecting current legislation to combat the effects of climate change."
The case was heard and resolved by the 6th Public Treasury Court of the Central Forum of São Paulo, which determined that most of the documents requested by the complainants, justified in a relevant manner and in logical correlation, should be provided by the State.
After gaining access to the documents, the Families for Climate and Fridays for Future Brazil movements filed a class-action lawsuit against the São Paulo State Government for non-compliance with the State Climate Change Policy. The movements allege that the IncentivAuto Program, created in late 2019, offers subsidies to the automotive sector without any requirement to reduce the sector's greenhouse gas emissions.
The plaintiffs allege that the "IncentivAuto" Program violates the State Climate Change Policy by encouraging air pollution and financing global warming.
The movement believes that the decree does not respect the climate protection regulations of the State of São Paulo, the constitutional right of future generations - that is, children and adolescents - to a balanced environment and the objectives established in the Paris Agreement.
The movement believes that the IncentivAuto Program, in addition to violating the Paris Agreement and the constitutional rights of future generations, undermines the State Policy on Climate Change by not being an economic and incentive instrument aimed at establishing measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, not promoting the reduction of emissions from new vehicles, and not ensuring the compatibility of socioeconomic development with the protection of the climate system.
- Families for the Climate.
- Fridays for Future Brazil.
- Government of São Paulo.
In 2018, each of São Paulo's 15 million cars emitted 2.5 tons of greenhouse gases, a factor directly linked to global warming and climate change. According to the São Paulo State Environmental Company (Cetesb), in 2017, motor vehicles released 2.7 tons of pollutants into the atmosphere. These gases also contribute to respiratory illnesses.
The first phase of the lawsuit is to request information about the incentive program. The next phase aims to reverse the policy. The argument is that, in addition to encouraging greenhouse gas emissions, the environmental and social impacts on current and future generations were not taken into account. Furthermore, the lawsuit states that it is unclear who the beneficiaries of the multimillion-dollar incentives are.
Promoting car production goes against the greenhouse gas reduction policies of other regions, such as Europe.
Rules:
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
- Statute of Childhood and Adolescence.
- Federal Constitution.
- State Climate Change Policy.
Beginning:
- Administrative advertising.
- Intergenerational equity.