IBAMA v. Estate of Celestino Alecio and others (Deforestation and climate damage in Ulianópolis)

On September 20, 2020, the Federal Environment Agency (IBAMA) filed a Public Civil Action (ACP) against the estate of Celestino Alécio Fuchina Facco, Tereza Stefanello Facco, Tiago Stefanello Facco, Lucas Stefanello Facco and Natascha Maria Pedroso Facco, seeking compensation for environmental damage caused by the deforestation of 913.35 hectares of native vegetation in the municipality of Ulianópolis in Pará. IBAMA mentions a series of damages resulting from deforestation, including global warming and climate impacts. As a preliminary injunction, it requested that the economic use of the area be prohibited for the duration of the case, that funding and tax incentives and access to credit lines be suspended, and that the defendants' assets be declared unavailable to guarantee the restoration of the damage. On the merits, it requests the environmental recovery of 913.35.60 hectares of Amazon rainforest and the payment of compensation for the interim and residual damage caused to the environment, as well as moral damage and compensation for the illicit economic profit.
 On July 3, 2022, Observatório do Clima filed its amicus brief to subsidize the decision on the merits regarding the need for express recognition of the climate damage. It argues that international commitments and national legislation guarantee the right to climate stability, an integral part of the fundamental right to an ecologically balanced environment. According to the NGO, the plaintiff's claim for compensation for interim and residual damages includes climate damage, with global warming and climate impacts having been expressly mentioned in the initial petition as damages resulting from deforestation. However, it claimed that, when the case was filed, there was no methodology to quantify the damage, leading IBAMA to request that it be calculated at the liquidation stage. Observatório do Clima then submitted a Technical Note with a methodology for quantifying and pricing the carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere due to the deforestation of the area mentioned in the initial petition. Based on the standard price of US$5.00/tCO2e, practiced by the Amazon Fund to raise funds for forest preservation, the climate damage in this case was calculated at R$23,159,018.18. It argued that climate damage resulting from illegal deforestation is an environmental damage that cannot be ignored, especially considering the principle of full reparation of environmental damages. On March 5, 2024, the court granted the admission of the NGOs Observatório do Clima and Instituto Arayara as amicus curiae.