Decision by the Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region (in Portuguese).

On December 13, 2022, the Instituto Internacional Arayara de Educação e Cultura filed a Climate Public Civil Action (ACP) with a request for an injunction against the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP) and the Federal Union. It argues for the nullification of the inclusion of blocks located in the Santos and Campos Basins in the auction, as these areas overlap and are near Priority Areas for Biodiversity Conservation and Conservation Units. It is contended that the climate crisis demands a transition to clean energy and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, which is incompatible with the expansion of oil exploration in protected areas. 

As an injunction, it requested: 
(i) the suspension of the offering of the mentioned blocks; 
(ii) the presentation of an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions that will be generated by the commercial exploitation of the blocks offered in the auction; and 
(iii) the presentation by the defendants of detailed studies on the socio-environmental and economic impacts resulting from the expansion of exploration and production (E&P) activities in the Santos and Campos Basins. On the merits, it is requested that the provisional injunction be confirmed and that the defendants refrain from holding new rounds of auctions for the mentioned blocks/areas unless the technical-environmental regularity is unequivocally demonstrated, especially with reasoned opinions from bodies such as ICMBio, IBAMA, and state/municipal environmental agencies.

In June 2023, the ruling extinguished the case without resolving the merits due to Arayara's illegitimacy and lack of interest in acting. According to the decision, Arayara was unable to demonstrate thematic relevance to be an active party in this ACP and the bidding procedure it seeks to prevent was already concluded on December 16, 2022.

Arayara filed an appeal in which it argued that it has active legitimacy to file the ACP defending the diffuse right to an ecologically balanced environment and that the fact that the auction has already taken place does not prevent it from being aware of the requests related to the greenhouse gas emissions inventory and studies on the socio-environmental and economic impacts resulting from the expansion of E&P activity.

On July 29, 2026, the appeal was judged by the Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region, which, unanimously, denied the appeal filed by the Arayara Institute and upheld the judgment that had recognized the existence of a connection between the present Public Civil Action and Public Civil Action 5050920-75.2023.4.04.7100 (action registered on the Platform under the name "Instituto Preservar, AGAPAN and Núcleo Amigos da Terra vs. União Federal and others (Climate emergency in the state of Rio Grande do Sul)") and dismissed the action without prejudice. The TRF 4 considered that the connecting action had already been decided and that the continuation of the present lawsuit could lead to conflicting decisions.

Instituto Arayara vs. ANP and Federal Union (1st Permanent Offer Cycle of Oil Concession in the Santos and Campos Basins)

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Instituto Arayara vs. ANP and Federal Union (1st Permanent Offer Cycle of Oil Concession in the Santos and Campos Basins) - decision

Filed

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

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

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.

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.

Instituto Arayara vs. ANP and Federal Union (1st Permanent Offer Cycle of Oil Concession in the Santos and Campos Basins) - decision

Risk

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience