ADPF 1201 (Fires in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest)

In December, 2024, the Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL) political party filed a Claim of Non-Compliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF), with a request for preliminary injunction against the Federal Government and the State of São Paulo, due to acts of commission and omission by these entities regarding the duty to protect the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes, in view of the fires that occurred in São Paulo in 2024. It is alleged that there is a dismantling of environmental conservation policy, inertia and inefficiency of the Public Authorities in adequately protecting these biomes, with the state in a forest and climate crisis neglected by the competent authorities. São Paulo has one of the worst air qualities in the country, mainly due to the fires, and, in contrast, has promoted the dismantling of environmental management, including the reduction of funds allocated to fighting fires. Furthermore, most municipalities in the state do not have civil defense structures or a disaster response plan. The crucial role of the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest in supplying water to Brazil and South America is highlighted, and their destruction increases the country's climate risk. The actions of the authorities imply a violation of the right to an ecologically balanced environment, the precautionary principle due to the lack of preservation of natural resources, the principle of non-regression, commitments made internationally, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), fundamental rights such as life, health and physical integrity, and guiding principles of public administration. In summary, as a precautionary measure, it is requested that the Federal and State Governments be ordered to present detailed administrative and scientific reports; and to implement economic and administrative measures for the prevention and control of wildfires in the state in 2025 and for the structuring of environmental management in São Paulo. As final requests, it is requested that the violation of fundamental precepts be recognized in order to deem the action admissible, with the recognition of the unconstitutionality of environmental management in the state of São Paulo, especially in the omissions perpetrated in the face of major incidents of biome devastation, confirming all precautionary requests. In a single-judge decision, Justice Flávio Dino partially granted the precautionary measures. He highlighted that it is undeniable that the climate emergency is an unprecedented global threat that generates several alarming consequences, and that the data presented by the plaintiffs demonstrate the configuration of a scenario of environmental vulnerability in São Paulo, with impacts on the biomes and the local population. He understood that it is essential for the defendants to reinforce environmental monitoring and control in order to reduce new outbreaks of fire. He determined, in a decision later confirmed by a panel, the presentation of detailed reports and the implementation of measures for the prevention and combating of wildfires in the year 2025.