judgment

Rede Sustentabilidade vs. National Environment Council (ADPF 749 on CONAMA Resolutions) - judgment

<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>

Litigation

Sabin

Sabin Litigation

petition

Rede Sustentabilidade vs. National Environment Council (ADPF 749 on CONAMA Resolutions) - petition

Filing Year For Action

On October 2, 20202, the political party Rede Sustentabilidade filed a constitutional claim (Allegation of Noncompliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF)) questioning CONAMA Resolution 500/2020, which revoked CONAMA Resolutions 284/2001, 302/2002 and 303/2002. The revoked resolutions regulated the permitting of irrigation activities and the definitions of permanent preservation areas (APPs) - a protected area within private properties - in artificial reservoirs, mangroves and sandbanks. Furthermore, it questions the new CONAMA Resolution 499/2020, which changed the permitting of waste processing activities in rotary kilns, revoking the CONAMA Resolution 264/1999. The plaintiff argues that (i) the burning of pesticides, (ii) the APPs and (iii) the modification of the form of environmental permitting for irrigation and burning of toxic waste are against environmental protection efforts. 

The plaintiff claims that there is a violation of the fundamental right to an ecologically balanced environment, in view of the setback in norms that controlled activities with potential environmental degradation or potential increase in the waste of natural resources. No regulation aiming at the same ends of environmental protection was presented to replace the revoked norms, evidencing the socio-environmental setback with consequences that the authors claim will be felt by current and future generations regarding the water, climate and pollution agendas in a systemic way. When questioning the repeal of Resolution 303/2002, which deals with the protection of mangroves and sandbanks on the Brazilian coast as APPs, The plaintiff highlights its consequences for climate change. It argues that the restinga and mangrove areas contribute to carbon sequestration, being important for mitigating climate change, and helping reduce the vulnerability of the coastal zone, which are the areas most affected by these changes, demonstrating its importance for adaptation. The plaintiff emphasizes that the legal protection of these areas is necessary to enable, among other benefits, the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement. In addition, it reinforces the importance of CONAMA Resolution 303/2002 due to the special protection granted to the Atlantic Forest, especially with regard to restingas. Finally, in the discussions regarding CONAMA Resolution 499/2020, the GHG emissions that occur in the waste burning process are also mentioned. 

The plaintiff request, as precautionary measures, the suspension of the effects of CONAMA Resolution 500/2020, with the return of validity of Resolutions 284/2001, 302/2002 and 303/2002; and the suspension of the new CONAMA Resolution 499/2020 on licensing the activity of co-processing waste in rotary kilns for the production of clinker, which revokes and replaces Resolution 264/1999. Definitively, the plaintiff request a declaration of the unconstitutionality of the Resolutions. 

Justice Rosa Weber determined the joint processing of this ADPF with ADPFs 747 and 748, due to the similarity of objects. On November 11, 2020, a monocratic decision, later confirmed by the Plenary of the Federal Supreme Court, partially granted the preliminary requests to suspend the effects of CONAMA Resolution 500/2020, with the immediate restoration of the validity and effectiveness of the CONAMA Resolutions 284/2001, 302/2002 and 303/2002. However, the request to suspend the effectiveness of CONAMA Resolution 499/2020 was rejected. 

A final decision confirmed the preliminary judgment and declared CONAMA Resolution 500/2020 unconstitutional, determining the immediate restoration of the validity and effectiveness of CONAMA Resolutions 284/2001, 302/2002 and 303/2002, dealing with licensing of irrigation activity and on parameters, definitions and limits of APPs, as it was understood that the mere revocation of rules necessary to comply with environmental legislation, without replacing or updating them, compromises compliance with the Constitution, current legislation and international commitments. The judgment of the preliminary decision regarding CONAMA Resolution 499/2020, on the licensing of waste co-processing activity in rotary clinker kilns, was also confirmed, rejecting the request as to its unconstitutionality based on the understanding that the new normative parameters established would be compatible with the constitutional text. 

Rede Sustentabilidade vs. National Environment Council (ADPF 749 on CONAMA Resolutions)

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.

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

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

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.

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 with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

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

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

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

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

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.

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

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Coastal zone and marine-related actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience to climate change

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

Rede Sustentabilidade vs. National Environment Council (ADPF 749 on CONAMA Resolutions) - judgment

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance