ADPF 746 (Fires in the Pantanal and the Amazon Forest)

On September 24, 2020, an Allegation of Noncompliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF), with a request for an injunction, was filed by the Labor Party (PT) due to the omission of the Federal Executive Branch regarding the duties of protection, prevention, precaution, inspection, conservation, surveillance and sustainability of the environment and, in particular, with regard to its action against fires that affected the Pantanal ecosystem and the Amazon Forest, emphasizing that this scenario affects climate change. The case highlights the economic and social impacts of the fires, especially for the native communities of the Pantanal, as well as the impacts of fires on the health of animals and the population, even more aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The plaintiffs state that there are risks for future generations, considering that the environmental effects, especially on the climate, are gradual. In addition, it points to violations of human dignity and rights to health, life and an ecologically balanced environment, as well as a lack of commitment to addressing the climate issue. It highlights that the quilombola, riverside and indigenous populations are the most directly affected. It therefore alleges structural failure in the environmental protection system. In an injunction, the plaintiff requires (i) the adoption of operational efforts to combat fires in the Pantanal and the Amazon Forest, especially in order to restructure the National System for the Prevention and Combat of Forest Fires (PREVFOGO) and to implement an Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm), in addition to the creation of action plans similar to other Brazilian biomes, (ii) the institution of an integrated public health and veterinary medical treatment project, (iv) the creation of a multidisciplinary commission to serve as an observatory of these measures and (v) the Ministry of the Environment's explanation of the budget execution of environmental protection programs in 2019 and 2020. On the merits, it requires recognition of the unconstitutionality of part of the environmental policy of the current Federal Executive Branch due to omissions in the face of incidents of devastation of biomes, confirming the preliminary injunctions. The main justice submitted to the request for an injunction to the plenary. In April 2024, ADPF 743, 746 and 857 were partially upheld. The Court did not declare the state of affairs unconstitutional. Still, it recognized the existence of structural flaws in the policy of protecting the Legal Amazon, imposing a series of measures to combat deforestation such as the Federal Government presenting a plan to prevent and combat fires in the Pantanal and the Amazon, with recovery of the operational capacity of the National System for Preventing and Combating Forest Fires - PREVFOGO; disclose data related to the budget and budget execution of actions related to environmental protection by the states and the federal government during 2019 and 2020; and report, as well as the state governments, on vegetation suppression authorizations. Afterward, the ruling was published. It highlights that the Federal Government is reviving environmental protection measures. It highlights the importance of the Amazon and the Pantanal for maintaining climate balance. In his vote, Justice Edson Fachin dissented to recognize the state of affairs as still unconstitutional, joined by Luiz Fux and Cármen Lúcia. Fachin pointed out that climate jurisprudence exists internationally due to foreign cases. He argued that admitting the repeated violation of the right to an ecologically balanced environment without allowing the STF to act promptly to “avoid climate chaos and the compromise of Amazonian biodiversity is not in line with international agreements and with the democratic commitment expressed in the Constitutional Charter.”