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Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office v. Sarah Ketley Muniz Almeida (Deforestation and climate damage in the PAE Antimary) - reply

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Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office v. Sarah Ketley Muniz Almeida (Deforestation and climate damage in the PAE Antimary) - complaint

Filing Year For Action

In September 2021, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) filed a Public Civil Action (ACP) against Sarah Ketley Muniz Almeida for deforesting an area of 214.88 hectares between 2015 and 2018 in Boca do Acre, Amazonas. The MPF alleges that the defendant’s occupation of the land was unlawful, as the area is part of an Agroextractivist Settlement Project (PAE), a federal property managed by the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) and occupied by traditional extractivist communities. This ACP is one of 22 actions brought by the MPF following an investigation conducted under Civil Inquiry No. 1.13.000.001719/2015-49, which addresses illegal deforestation within the Antimary Agroextractivist Settlement Project, though involving different defendants. The legal arguments for the action are based, among other factors, on Brazilian environmental law, emphasizing the constitutional protection of the environment, allegations of deforestation, propter rem civil liability for environmental damages (including climate-related damages), and collective moral damages.

The MPF also highlights the environmental liability stemming from unauthorized greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by the illegal deforestation, estimated at 116,509.18 tons of carbon dioxide. These emissions are directly linked to Brazil’s deviation from its climate goals, violating commitments under the National Policy on Climate Change (Federal Law 12,187/2009) and the Paris Agreement.

The ACP includes the following key requests:
(i) reversal of the burden of proof from the outset;
(ii) immediate cessation of activities contributing to ongoing damage;
(iii) restoration of the environment to its original state or, alternatively, payment of compensation aimed at achieving environmental restitution;
(iv) payment of compensation for interim and residual environmental material damages;
(v) payment of compensation for climate-related damages; and
(vi) payment of compensation for collective moral damages.

In April 2022, in her answer, the defendant argued that she neither owned nor possessed the property at the time of the deforestation or at present and denied any involvement in the deforestation. She also claimed that the case involved litis pendens, as another action had been filed against a different defendant for the same facts.

The defendant requested that the action be dismissed or, alternatively, that:
(i) the action be suspended;
(ii) compensation for material damages be excluded;
(iii) compensation for collective moral damages be excluded; and
(iv) the carbon-related calculations presented by the MPF be discredited.

Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office v. Sarah Ketley Muniz Almeida (Deforestation and climate damage in the PAE Antimary)

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

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.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

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.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

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

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

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.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Social protection systems consist of policies that help people manage social risks in order to prevent poverty and maintain decent incomes and living standards

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Using laws and the legal system more broadly to protect vulnerable entities

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

A tax advantage is an economic benefit applied to certain accounts or investments that are, by law, tax-reduced, tax-deferred, or tax-free. This can apply to investments in areas such as green energy projects or the agricultural sector, where tax advantages can help manage financial risks.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

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

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office v. Sarah Ketley Muniz Almeida (Deforestation and climate damage in the PAE Antimary) - reply

Policy instrument

Risk

Just transition

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance