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Instituto Aimara and AMAPIRA vs. Piracicaba Municipality, Piracicaba Educational Institute of the Methodist Church (IEP) and Zayo Administradora de Bens S.A. - complaint

Filing Year For Action

In February, 2026, the Aimara Institute for Environmental Defense and Education and the Association of Friends of Citizenship and the Environment of Piracicaba - AMAPIRA filed a Public Civil Action (ACP), with a request for urgent relief against the Municipality of Piracicaba (SP), the Piracicaba Educational Institute of the Methodist Church (IEP), and Zayo Administradora de Bens SA due to a fire that occurred on the former campus of the Methodist University of Piracicaba (UNIMEP) in May 2025, in an area equivalent to 16 (sixteen) hectares. 

The plaintiffs allege that there was direct damage to health, fauna, and flora due to the removal of hundreds of trees and native vegetation, and that the consequences are not limited to local environmental degradation. They argue that by eliminating carbon sinks and intensifying net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the removal led to climate damage and represents a violation of Brazil's climate obligations. They allege that Piracicaba has faced a series of fires in urban areas, highlighting an alarming scenario from an environmental, public safety, and collective health standpoint, with a total absence of structured public policies at the municipal level to combat fires and wildfires. 

Based on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ (IACHR) advisory opinion on climate change, it is understood that internal and international authorities responsible for determining reparative measures in the context of the climate emergency should not limit reparations to monetary compensation, but should consider creating mechanisms for monitoring and following up on the implementation of reparative measures. The complaint also cites Advisory Opinion OC-23/2017, which recognizes the protection of the environment and climate as a factor in the realization of human rights, and environmental degradation and climate change as detrimental to their effective realization. Advisory Opinion 32/2025 (PC-32/2025) of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is also cited, emphasizing that environmental remediation should consider not only direct damages but also the climatic, ecological, and intergenerational consequences of events such as the fire on the former UNIMEP campus.

The plaintiffs argue that the private legal entities holding the land affected by the fire, as well as the Public Authorities, are liable due to their omission in their duty to supervise. It is alleged that the land affected by the fire was recently purchased at a judicial auction, and there are reports that the winning company intends to construct a large building for commercial activity. Due to the nature of the undertaking, prior environmental licensing is required. However, the region is severely compromised due to the fire and subsequent abandonment, without any reparation for the environmental and climatic damage following the environmental disaster, and without the adoption of measures to recover the area. Therefore, it is argued that it is inadmissible to process administrative procedures for environmental licensing of new buildings before the restoration of the existing environment, under penalty of violating the principles of prevention, precaution, and the polluter-pays principle. 

Furthermore, the inertia of the City Hall in processing the draft of the Municipal Climate Change Policy is noteworthy; this is an appropriate instrument that defines objectives, principles, and instruments to guide, in a cross-cutting and participatory manner, the mitigation of GHG emissions and the adaptation of the territory and population of Piracicaba to climate risks. Therefore, it is requested: (i) that the request for urgent relief be granted to immediately prohibit the initiation, processing, or continuation of any environmental licensing procedure and to prohibit the issuance of any license, authorization, permit, or any administrative act in the degraded area without effective investigation, accountability, and remediation of the environmental and climate damage; (ii) recognition of the environmental and climate damage and the objective liability of the defendant; (iii) that the defendant be ordered to pay compensation for moral and material damages due to the environmental and climate damage; and (iv) that the defendant be ordered to perform an obligation consisting of the preparation and execution of a Degraded Area Recovery Plan, which must include reforestation, additional compensation for the generated climate liability, continuous monitoring and maintenance, preventive measures, and the creation of a conservation unit, among other things. Furthermore, it requests that the municipality be required to develop public policies to address extreme events, including the creation of a Greenhouse Gas Inventory, a Municipal Plan to Combat Fires and Wildfires, and a Municipal Policy to address climate change.

In February 2026, the court denied the request for urgent relief because it considered it a premature decision given the complexity of the case.

In its defense, the Municipality stated that the conservation of the site is the responsibility of IEP and Zayo Administradora de Bens SA, and that the affected area belongs exclusively to the defendants. Therefore, its responsibility would only be subsidiary, according to Precedent 652 of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), meaning that the Municipality can only be called upon to respond after all means of collection from the main debtors have been exhausted. The party argued that there was no duty to inspect the specific area, as there were no requests for environmental licensing or regularization, and that the owners' economic activities were not potentially polluting. The Municipality stated that to be held responsible, it would be necessary to prove a specific and qualified omission, and it is not possible to establish a causal link between any alleged omission by the Municipality and the environmental damage, since the initial petition does not point to or prove the origin of the fire. Finally, it requested the dismissal of the case without prejudice and its total dismissal in relation to the municipality.

In its defense, Zayo Administradora de Bens SA alleged that the initial complaint was flawed because the plaintiff acknowledged that the administrator did not possess or manage the area on the date of the fire and, therefore, generically assigned responsibility. It reaffirmed that the court decision itself recognizes that IEP had actual possession of the property on the date of the fire. Furthermore, it stated that the creation of a municipal park is impossible, since it is not judicially possible to impose the public use of private property as a form of environmental remediation. Finally, it requested partial dismissal without prejudice, the total dismissal of the action against Zayo, and, subsidiarily, the dismissal of the claims for compensation for material damages, collective moral damages, reparation for alleged environmental, climatic, floristic, faunistic, and sanitary damages, as well as the request for the creation of a municipal park in the area.

In its defense, IEP argued that, on the date of the fire, it no longer possessed the property and had no surveillance authority, since the fire occurred on May 25, 2025, and the property was auctioned off on May 5, 2025. IEP claims that the origin of the fire is unknown and that there is no technical report or official expert analysis that proves or attributes responsibility to the Institute. It argued that the methodology used to calculate carbon emissions and sequestration was inconsistent, as parameters incompatible with the vegetation were used. It requested, preliminarily, the exclusion of the Institute from the lawsuit. On the merits, it requested that the initial claim be declared entirely unfounded.



Instituto Aimara and AMAPIRA vs. Piracicaba Municipality, Piracicaba Educational Institute of the Methodist Church (IEP) and Zayo Administradora de Bens S.A.

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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.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

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

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

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

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.

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

The processes through which enterprises can identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their actual and potential adverse impacts. Due diligence is the idea that reasonable precautions should be taken to avoid causing harm to people, the environment, or society. It also involves identifying and mitigating risks before they occur.

Financial actors and resources that are primarily directed towards climate change mitigation, adaptation and compensation.

Dedicated pool of financial resources for climate-related projects.

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

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

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Actions to adapt and increase the resilience of rural and urban infrastructure and settlements to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Hot temperature extremes are daily maximum temperatures  that were exceeded on average once in a decade or once in 50 years, and includes heatwaves.

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

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

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

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.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

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.

People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

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.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

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

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

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

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

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

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

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

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

This sector provides medical services, manufactures medical equipment, and develops pharmaceuticals to maintain and improve health.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

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.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Instituto Aimara and AMAPIRA vs. Piracicaba Municipality, Piracicaba Educational Institute of the Methodist Church (IEP) and Zayo Administradora de Bens S.A. - complaint

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance