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State ADI 0007238-31.2021.8.21.7000 (Eldorado do Sul Master Plan) - ruling

Litigation

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State ADI 0007238-31.2021.8.21.7000 (Eldorado do Sul Master Plan) - decision

petition

State ADI 0007238-31.2021.8.21.7000 (Eldorado do Sul Master Plan) - petition

Filing Year For Action

This is a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality brought by the Attorney General of the State of Rio Grande do Sul against Municipal Law 4.968/2019 of Eldorado do Sul, which provides for urban policy and establishes the municipality's Urban and Environmental Development Master Plan. The plaintiff argues that the approval of the Plan by the City Council took place without popular participation during the legislative process, in violation of the constitutional right to participation, which makes it incompatible with the Constitution of the state of Rio Grande do Sul and the Federal Constitution. He argues that the law under discussion reduces environmental protection in the city, which reinforces the need for popular participation in the legislative process, as well as the need for a technical study to analyze its environmental impacts. It requests a preliminary injunction to suspend the validity of the contested law. On a final basis, it requests that Municipal Law 4.968/2019 be declared unconstitutional.
The Reporting Judge granted the injunction. He considered that the documentary evidence showed the lack of popular consultation. He considered that master plans are related to the population's quality of life, and that public discussion is essential. He pointed out that there had been no Environmental Impact Study or Neighborhood Impact Study, considering the National Environmental Policy - PNMA (Federal Law 6.938/1981) and CONAMA Resolution 237/1997.
The Association of Residents and Friends of Eldorado Park (AMAPE) requested to be admitted as amicus curiae in the case. AMAPE points out, among other issues, the importance of the climate debate in the case. It emphasized that climate should no longer be a peripheral issue in the lawsuit, since, alongside health protection, it is part of the core of the right to a balanced environment, forming part of the environmental existential minimum. He argued that the legislative plan to set up an industrial center in the area of Parque Eldorado (a district of the municipality), related to the opening of the Guaíba coal mine, goes against the need to expand renewable energy sources in order to preserve the planet's climate. He stressed that coal mining should be stopped in order to protect the climate, the environment and health, as provided for in the Paris Agreement (enacted by Federal Decree 9.073/2017). It also claimed that the indigenous community living near the region had not been consulted about the approved law, as required by Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Subsequently, AMAPE and other organizations' request for amicus curiae status was granted.
The special body of the Rio Grande do Sul Court of Justice upheld the request to declare Municipal Law 4.968/2022 unconstitutional, on the grounds that the requirements of reasonable community participation in the drafting of the rule and prior environmental studies on its impacts were not met, considering the climate issue when mentioning AMAPE's statement.
Subsequently, the Municipal Law in question was repealed, which is why the claim lost its object. It was therefore definitively dismissed.

State ADI 0007238-31.2021.8.21.7000 (Eldorado do Sul Master Plan)

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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.

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

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

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

State ADI 0007238-31.2021.8.21.7000 (Eldorado do Sul Master Plan) - ruling

Policy instrument

Impacted group

Just transition

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience