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Instituto Arayara vs. ANP and others on auction of oil exploration blocks in Montes Submarinos - complaint

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Instituto Arayara vs. ANP and others on auction of oil exploration blocks in Montes Submarinos - reply

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Instituto Arayara vs. ANP and others on auction of oil exploration blocks in Montes Submarinos - decision

Filing Year For Action

On November 17, 2023, the NGO Instituto Arayara de Educação e Cultura para a Sustentabilidade filed a public civil action (environmental class-action) against the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), Brazil’s Federal Environment Agencies (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources - IBAMA and Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation - ICMBio), and the Federal Government. This lawsuit is part of a set of 6 environmental class actions filed against the 4th Bid Cycle for oil exploration blocks. The aim is to challenge the auction of oil exploration blocks located in the Potiguar Basin. 

The plaintiff argued that the inclusion of this set of blocks is illegal because (i) the blocks overlap with seamount areas, which are extremely important geological formations for the region's ecosystem; (ii) there was a lack of a technical analysis of the feasibility of the offer or environmental assessment studies; (iii) the exploration areas are located less than 100km from the coast; and (iv) they imply investment to explore for oil and gas in a region of rich biodiversity and tourism, in a climate emergency scenario. The plaintiff argued that this scenario requires an energy transition towards clean energies and a reduction in GHG emissions, which is incompatible with the expansion of oil exploration. As a preliminary injunction, it requested that the offer in the 4th Permanent Offer Cycle of the blocks in the Potiguar Basin in Sector SPOT-AP2 be suspended until the technical analysis that demonstrates the socio-environmental viability is carried out, in particular with reasoned opinions from bodies such as ICMBio and IBAMA. On a definitive basis, they request that the contested blocks be excluded from the Bid Cycle. 

IBAMA, ICMBio and the Federal Government presented their defenses based on procedural arguments, such as plaintiff's illegitimacy, the absence of environmental damage resulting from the auction and the regularity of the procedure offering the area by the ANP. Finally, they emphasized the economic benefits of oil exploration for Brazilian society and that in the International Energy Agency's NetZero 2050 scenario, the energy matrix will still rely on oil and natural gas as primary energy and that the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from the projects can be assessed in the environmental licensing phase under the financial burden of the entrepreneur.

In May 2024, the ruling extinguished the case without resolution of the merits due to the supervening loss of the object of the action. This ruling was based on the fact that, on December 13, 2023, the public bidding session of the 4th OPC was held and, on that occasion, no bid was made for the blocks which are the subject of this lawsuit.

Instituto Arayara vs. ANP and others on auction of oil exploration blocks in Montes Submarinos

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

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

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

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

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

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

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

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Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Instituto Arayara vs. ANP and others on auction of oil exploration blocks in Montes Submarinos - complaint

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance