petition

AMOREMA e AMORETGRAP vs. Sustainable Carbon and others (Carbon credits and Extractive Reserves) - petition

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On December 20, 2021, AMOREMA and AMORETGRAP filed a Public Civil Action (ACP) against Sustainable Carbon - Projetos Ambientais Ltda., Ecomapuá Conservação Ltda., Eccaplan Consultoria em Sustentabilidade, Bio Assets Ativos Ambientais Ltda, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Consultores Ltda., Barilla G. e R. F.lli S.P.A., Banco Santander S.A., ISA CTEEP - Companhia de Transmissão de Energia Elétrica Paulista, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Auditores Independentes, BB MAPFRE Participações S.A., IATA International Air Transport Association, Swire Pacific Offshore Operations (PTE.) Ltd, Inter-American Development Bank, Companhia de Locação das Américas, Groupe Air France, 17er Oberlandenergie GMBH, Wienerberger GMBH, Brockhaus Stahl GMBH and other companies which acquired carbon credits from the Ecomapuá Project that could not be identified by the plaintiffs. 

The judge of the Environmental and Agrarian Court of the Judicial Section of Pará declared the case to be extinguished without resolution of the merits, due to the inappropriateness of the chosen course of action. He considered that the lawsuit dealt with private property rights and therefore the Public Civil Action could not have been used.

AMOREMA and AMORETGRAP filed an appeal against the decision, in which they defended the appropriateness of the Public Civil Action for the claim.  The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office also filed an appeal. It argued that the lawsuit seeks to protect the fundamental rights of traditional peoples and communities to the exclusive use of their territories, dealing with practices of “carbon grabbing” or “carbon credit grabbing”, which are matters of public interest and related to environmental protection. He pointed out that the sentence was handed down without the prior hearing of the MPF, in violation of the Public Civil Action Law. It asked for the sentence to be annulled so that the case could be analyzed properly by the lower court.
It is alleged that the defendant companies illicitly traded in the voluntary market carbon credits generated in or around the Mapuá Extractive Reserve (RESEX Mapuá) and Terra Grande-Pracuúba Extractive Reserve (RESEX Terra Grande-Pracuúba), located in the Amazon, in the state of Pará, which characterizes illegal takeover of these assets. The defendant companies would obtain an economic advantage from the misappropriation of credits, due to the environmental preservation promoted by the traditional extractivist population, without receiving fair remuneration or compensation. The Extractive Reserves are, according to specific legislation, public lands of the Federal Union, whose real right of use is granted to the traditional populations that inhabit them. It is in discussion the generation and sale of carbon credits from "Ecomapuá Project" from 2015 in the Amazon, prepared and/or marketed by the companies Ecomapuá, Sustainable Carbon, Bio Assets and Evento Neutro, which consists of the sale of assets from REDD+ projects (credits generated by avoided deforestation, sustainable management and increased forest carbon stocks), is discussed. The other defendant companies are sued for having acquired the assets without the necessary diligence, therefore entering into void contracts due to illicit objects, or for being supporters of the project. It is claimed that areas of the Project, consisting of Fazendas Brasileiro, Lago do Jacaré and São Domingos, overlap with the territory of RESEX Mapuá and Terra Grande-Pracuúba, where hundreds of families live and, therefore, the certified credits from these areas should belong to the extractivist communities that inhabit them.

It is argued that the preservation of forests in the project areas comes from the activities of the extractivist communities in the region and that the sale of the assets of the Ecomapuá Project had the certification of "social carbon," stating that there would be counterparts for the communities, which did not occur. Thus, the plaintiffs claim that the companies misused the name, image, and cultural heritage of the communities and altered the truth of the facts by advertising the socio-environmental responsibility of the Project. The associations argue that the companies caused collective material and moral damages to the extractivist families and incurred in enrichment by intervention. They request: (i) that the defendants which sold carbon credits submit detailed reports on said assets; (ii) that the defendants submit contracts and other documents on the transactions carried out within the scope of the Ecomapuá Project; (iii) the joint and several condemnation of the defendants to pay the plaintiffs compensation for material damages, restitution of the benefits earned by the defendants and compensation for collective moral damage; and (iv) order, under penalty of a fine, that the defendants cease to buy or sell carbon credits from within or around the Mapuá and Terra Grande-Pracuúba Extractive Reserves and cease to use the name and image of the extractivist populations, their associations and the respective Extractive Reserves.

AMOREMA e AMORETGRAP vs. Sustainable Carbon and others (Carbon credits and Extractive Reserves)

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Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

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A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

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A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

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Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

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People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

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Activities involving the management, development, and sale of property assets.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

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Actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience of societies and the economy to climate change.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

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Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

On December 20, 2021, AMOREMA and AMORETGRAP filed a Public Civil Action (ACP) against Sustainable Carbon - Projetos Ambientais Ltda., Ecomapuá Conservação Ltda., Eccaplan Consultoria em Sustentabilidade, Bio Assets Ativos Ambientais Ltda., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Consultores Ltda., Barilla G. e RFlli SPA, Banco Santander SA, ISA CTEEP - Companhia de Transmissão de Energia Elétrica Paulista, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Auditores Independentes, BB MAPFRE Participações SA, IATA International Air Transport Association, Swire Pacific Offshore Operations (PTE.) Ltd., Inter-American Development Bank, Companhia de Locação das Américas, Groupe Air France, 17er Oberlandenergie GMBH, Wienerberger GMBH, Brockhaus Stahl GMBH, and other companies that acquired carbon credits from the Ecomapuá Project that could not be identified by the plaintiffs. The judge of the Environmental and Agrarian Court of the Judicial Section of Pará declared the case to be extinguished without resolution of the merits, due to the inappropriateness of the chosen course of action. He considered that the lawsuit dealt with private property rights and therefore the Public Civil Action could not have been used. AMOREMA and AMORETGRAP filed an appeal against the decision, in which they defended the appropriateness of the Public Civil Action for the claim. The Federal Public Prosecutor&#39;s Office also filed an appeal. It argued that the lawsuit seeks to protect the fundamental rights of traditional peoples and communities to the exclusive use of their territories, dealing with practices of “carbon grabbing” or “carbon credit grabbing”, which are matters of public interest and related to environmental protection. He pointed out that the sentence was handed down without the prior hearing of the MPF, in violation of the Public Civil Action Law. It asked for the sentence to be annulled so that the case could be analyzed properly by the lower court. It is alleged that the defendant companies illicitly traded in the voluntary market carbon credits generated in or around the Mapuá Extractive Reserve (RESEX Mapuá) and Terra Grande-Pracuúba Extractive Reserve (RESEX Terra Grande-Pracuúba), located in the Amazon, in the state of Pará, which characterizes illegal takeover of these assets. The defendant companies would obtain an economic advantage from the misappropriation of credits, due to the environmental preservation promoted by the traditional extractivist population, without receiving fair remuneration or compensation. The Extractive Reserves are, according to specific legislation, public lands of the Federal Union, whose real right of use is granted to the traditional populations that inhabit them. It is in discussion the generation and sale of carbon credits from &quot;Ecomapuá Project&quot; from 2015 in the Amazon, prepared and/or marketed by the companies Ecomapuá, Sustainable Carbon, Bio Assets and Evento Neutro, which consists of the sale of assets from REDD+ projects (credits generated by avoided deforestation, sustainable management and increased forest carbon stocks), is discussed. The other defendant companies are sued for having acquired the assets without the necessary diligence, therefore entering into void contracts due to illicit objects, or for being supporters of the project. It is claimed that areas of the Project, consisting of Fazendas Brasileiro, Lago do Jacaré and São Domingos, overlap with the territory of RESEX Mapuá and Terra Grande-Pracuúba, where hundreds of families live and, therefore, the certified credits from these areas should belong to the extractivist communities that inhabit them. It is argued that the preservation of forests in the project areas comes from the activities of the extractivist communities in the region and that the sale of the assets of the Ecomapuá Project had the certification of &quot;social carbon,&quot; stating that there would be counterparts for the communities, which did not occur. Thus, the plaintiffs claim that the companies misused the name, image, and cultural heritage of the communities and altered the truth of the facts by advertising the socio-environmental responsibility of the Project. The associations argue that the companies caused collective material and moral damages to the extractivist families and incurred in enrichment by intervention. They request: (i) that the defendants which sold carbon credits submit detailed reports on said assets; (ii) that the defendants submit contracts and other documents on the transactions carried out within the scope of the Ecomapuá Project; (iii) the joint and several condemnation of the defendants to pay the plaintiffs compensation for material damages, restitution of the benefits earned by the defendants and compensation for collective moral damages; and (iv) order, under penalty of a fine, that the defendants cease to buy or sell carbon credits from within or around the Mapuá and Terra Grande-Pracuúba Extractive Reserves and cease to use the name and image of the extractivist populations, their associations and the respective Extractive Reserves.

AMOREMA e AMORETGRAP vs. Sustainable Carbon and others (Carbon credits and Extractive Reserves) - petition

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance