On October 26, 2021, Observatório do Clima (OC), a network of 71 civil society organizations, filed a class action at the federal court of Amazonas against the Environmental Ministry and Brazilian government. The plaintiffs request that the National Climate Change Policy be updated according to the best available science, the seriousness of the climate emergency, and the latest IPCC report (AR6) to ensure the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by the Brazilian government consistent with a 1.5oC global warming scenario. The plaintiffs assert that climate change affects the constitutionally recognized right to a healthy environment, as well as fundamental rights such as the right to life, dignity, health, food, and housing, along with several recognized principles of international environmental law. The plaintiffs refer to the latest IPCC report to attest to the urgency of the case and the likely damages that will occur in the case of inaction from the Brazilian government. 

Plaintiffs argue that, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Brazil has committed to a series of duties to mitigate climate change. Along with the existing legal climate framework in Brazil (i.e., the Law on Climate Change Policy and the National Climate Change Plan), this entails a duty from the Brazilian government to (i) take the necessary measures to predict, avoid and minimize the identified causes of climate change originating in the national territory; (ii) reduce anthropogenic GHG emissions in relation to their different sources; (iii) make the instruments of the national policy effective; (iv) present successive phases of the national plan; and (v) strive for the maximum possible ambition in reducing GHGs.

Brazil represents one of the world’s largest GHG emitters. Yet, the majority of emissions arise from deforestation rather than from energy sources and transportation. Through the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) published in 2016, Brazil committed to reducing GHG emissions by 37% by 2025 and by 43% by 2030 based on emissions from 2005. On December 2020, the government presented its updated NDC. The new NDC used the same percentage of emissions reductions, but altered the baseline quantity for calculating them, effectively making the second NDC less ambitious than the first. Additionally, Brazil had committed to reducing deforestation by 80% by 2030 in 2015 – this provision was deleted from the updated NDC. The plaintiffs assert that the updated NDC effectively violates the Paris Agreement and the national legal framework and the principle of non-regression.

On November 4, 2021, the court scheduled a preliminary conciliatory hearing for November 25, 2021. However, on November 24, 2021, conciliatory hearing was canceled, in view of the Union's manifestation of no interest in the consensual composition of the dispute.

On May 13, 2022, the court rejected the request to combine the case with Six Youths v. Minister of Environment and Others, as requested by the defendants.

Laboratório do Observatório do Clima v. Minister of Environment and Brazil

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Laboratório do Observatório do Clima v. Minister of Environment and Brazil - petition

Filed

On October 26, 2021, Observatório do Clima (OC), a network of 71 civil society organizations, filed a class action at the federal court of Amazonas against the Environmental Ministry and Brazilian government. The plaintiffs request that the National Climate Change Policy be updated according to the best available science, the seriousness of the climate emergency, and the latest IPCC report (AR6) to ensure the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by the Brazilian government consistent with a 1.5oC global warming scenario. The plaintiffs assert that climate change affects the constitutionally recognized right to a healthy environment, as well as fundamental rights such as the right to life, dignity, health, food, and housing, along with several recognized principles of international environmental law. The plaintiffs refer to the latest IPCC report to attest to the urgency of the case and the likely damages that will occur in the case of inaction from the Brazilian government. 

Plaintiffs argue that, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Brazil has committed to a series of duties to mitigate climate change. Along with the existing legal climate framework in Brazil (i.e., the Law on Climate Change Policy and the National Climate Change Plan), this entails a duty from the Brazilian government to (i) take the necessary measures to predict, avoid and minimize the identified causes of climate change originating in the national territory; (ii) reduce anthropogenic GHG emissions in relation to their different sources; (iii) make the instruments of the national policy effective; (iv) present successive phases of the national plan; and (v) strive for the maximum possible ambition in reducing GHGs.

Brazil represents one of the world’s largest GHG emitters. Yet, the majority of emissions arise from deforestation rather than from energy sources and transportation. Through the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) published in 2016, Brazil committed to reducing GHG emissions by 37% by 2025 and by 43% by 2030 based on emissions from 2005. On December 2020, the government presented its updated NDC. The new NDC used the same percentage of emissions reductions, but altered the baseline quantity for calculating them, effectively making the second NDC less ambitious than the first. Additionally, Brazil had committed to reducing deforestation by 80% by 2030 in 2015 – this provision was deleted from the updated NDC. The plaintiffs assert that the updated NDC effectively violates the Paris Agreement and the national legal framework and the principle of non-regression.

On November 4, 2021, the court scheduled a preliminary conciliatory hearing for November 25, 2021. However, on November 24, 2021, conciliatory hearing was canceled, in view of the Union's manifestation of no interest in the consensual composition of the dispute.

On May 13, 2022, the court rejected the request to combine the case with Six Youths v. Minister of Environment and Others, as requested by the defendants. 

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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

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.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

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

Dedicated pool of financial resources for climate-related projects.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

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.

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

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.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

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.

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.

Electrical energy generated from mechanical devices driven by flowing fresh water.

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.

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.

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.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

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

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

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

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.

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

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

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 the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

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

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

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.

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

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.

The cryosphere is the frozen part of the Earth—it includes sea ice, glaciers, snow, and ice sheets. It helps regulate the climate and weather by reflecting sunlight. Rising temperatures are causing melting, leading to sea ice loss, glacier collapse, and glacier landslides and avalanches. This threatens the livelihoods of around 700 million people who rely on the cryosphere for food, water security, and cultural practices.

Laboratório do Observatório do Clima v. Minister of Environment and Brazil - petition

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance