On 27 September 2023, Brazil’s Supreme Court concluded the trial of Extraordinary Appeal No. 1,017,365, which discussed a cut-off date for indigenous occupation as a requirement for demarcation of indigenous lands. Based on a strict interpretation of the Brazilian Constitution, the time limit thesis tried to implement a cut-off date to restrict indigenous land claims, arguing that only indigenous lands occupied on the date of the 1988 Constitution promulgation could be demarcated by the Federal Government. In reviewing the appeal, the Supreme Court not only rejected the time limit requirement, but also established a broad set of criteria covering other relevant aspects to the demarcation of indigenous lands.Continue Reading Brazil’s Supreme Court rejects time limit requirement for indigenous land demarcation

On June 5th 2023, World Environmental Day, the Brazilian Government published five decrees seeking to strengthen national efforts towards the decarbonization of the economy and tackling climate change:

  • Decree No. 11,546/2023: creates the National Council for the 30th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC

On December 27, the Brazilian Presidency issued Provisional Measure No. 1,151/2022, which, among other provisions, amended Laws No. 11,284/2006 (Public Forests Management Act) and 11,516/2007 (ICMBio Creation Act) to enable the development of carbon credit projects and other environmental services in conservation units, through concessions.

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The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) is taking place in Montreal, Canada, until next Monday (December 19).  It has been attracting much attention due to negotiations on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which is hoped to be agreed upon in the next few days. This would be an important milestone has base been described as the “biodiversity equivalent of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change”.  The aims is to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and establish long-term goals by 2050.Continue Reading Observations from the COP15 (Biodiversity Conference) Halfway Point

In a previous blog post that can be read here, we provided an overview on how – for the first time – the Brazilian Supreme Court had trial sessions scheduled in connection with several climate litigation cases, starting on 30 March 2022, covering ADIs (Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade), ADOs (Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade por Omissão) and ADPFs (Ação de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental), all of which are types of lawsuits that seek to address Constitutional violations. Two months later, five lawsuits of the so-called Supreme Court’s “green agenda” have gone through trial and three have been ruled on.Continue Reading Climate Litigation and the Brazilian Supreme Court: A Follow-Up on the “Green Agenda” and the Trial Sessions That Took Place in April and May

On May 19, 2022, the Brazilian Federal Government published Decree No. 11,075/2022 (“Decree”), which establishes the National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction System and the related procedures for the implementation of the Sectoral Plans for Climate Change Mitigation. The Brazilian National Policy on Climate Change (Federal Law No. 12,187/2009) mentions the implementation of such