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Amidst the recent uptrend of climate litigation cases in Brazil, the Brazilian Supreme Court has scheduled for March 30, 2022 a trial session covering several different lawsuits involving the protection of the environment and effects on climate change. This is an important milestone for the Brazilian climate litigation landscape, as this is the first time a Supreme Court session will be exclusively dedicated to climate-themed cases.
Continue Reading Brazilian Supreme Court Climate Litigation Day: Justices to Decide Several Climate Litigation Cases on March 30

Brazil - Rio de Janeiro

The Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM) issued, on December 22, 2021, CVM Resolution No. 59 (RCVM 59), which amends CVM Rule No. 480 (CVM Rule 480). This new normative arises from Public Consultation No. 09, closed in March 2021, and brings substantial innovations on the informational regime for issuers of securities. Indeed, the reform promotes a reduction in the cost of compliance for issuers and greater accessibility of information to investors by eliminating redundancies and simplifying the content required in the Reference Form, the main document of publicly-held companies in Brazil.

However, most importantly, through RCVM 59, CVM in an unprecedented way establishes criteria and requirements for the disclosure of information on environmental, social and governance aspects, which was previously a mere deliberation of issuers to attract investors engaged in ESG aspects, and it was not foreseen in any regulation of the autarchy.Continue Reading Brazilian Securities Commission Establishes ESG Information Disclosure Criteria for Listed Companies

Brazil - Rio de Janeiro

While climate litigation against private actors in Brazil has been gaining more attention and employing creative legal strategies, as we have already commented here and here, litigation against the government is also keeping pace, as illustrated by a recent case filed against the Brazilian Federal Government and the Ministry of Environment.

On October 26, just a week before the Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP26), 70 NGOs led by Observatório do Clima filed a public civil action claiming that the current Brazilian National Policy on Climate Change, set forth by Law no. 12,187/2009, is inadequate and unable to provide a response to the current climate crisis. As such, the plaintiffs require that the policy be updated with new commitments, effectively fit to contribute in the fight against climate change.Continue Reading Climate Litigation in Brazil: New Developments in Seeking Government Action Towards More Ambitious Legislation

Sunrise on a lake

Just months after we discussed a recent climate lawsuit filed in Brazil against a rural landowner due to alleged illegal deforestation in the Amazon, a new chapter in Brazilian climate litigation unfolds and reinforces the trend of climate change lawsuits against public and private entities. In this Blog Post, we take a look at this new precedent and how it further impacts climate change discussions in the context of carbon-intensive activities.
Continue Reading Climate Litigation in Brazil: New Lawsuit Seeks to Bring Climate Change Discussions to the Core of Environmental Licensing of Carbon-Intensive Activities

Brazil - Brasilia

Following global trends of climate litigation against governments evolving to litigation against private entities, a new lawsuit recently filed in Brazil is an interesting development in the country. In this blog post, we provide an overview on this new lawsuit in consideration to what is next in climate litigation in Brazil.
Continue Reading Climate litigation in Brazil: new strategy from prosecutors on climate litigation against private entities

Brazil - Fortaleza

Following a long-waited ratification (on March 4, 2021), Brazil became a party to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (“Nagoya Protocol” or “Protocol”) on  June 2, 2021. This is an opportunity to dig into some practical consequences of the ratification. One of these consequences relates to offering a possible remedy to clarify one of the pending issues related to the material scope of Law 13123 of May 20, 2015 (the “Brazilian Biodiversity Law” or “Law”).
Continue Reading Biodiversity – Brazil: Does the Nagoya Protocol Set Limits to the Scope of Domestic Legislation?

Brazil - Brasilia

On April 26, 2021, the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) launched a new public consultation (No. 86/2021, the “Consultation”) on a proposed regulation for mandatory disclosure of social, environmental, and climate risks by financial institutions.

Climate-related risks must be disclosed in accordance with the TCFD Recommendations (“Recommendations”), including both…

Brazil - Rio de Janeiro

Following in the footsteps of other central banks around the world, and in face of the pressing need for an inclusive and sustainable economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, on April 7, 2021, the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) launched public consultation No. 85/2021 (Consultation). The Consultation includes proposed amendments and new rules governing the management of social, environmental and climate risks by financial institutions (and other institutions with operations authorized by the BCB), as well as the requirements to be observed by these institutions in the elaboration and implementation of their respective Social, Environmental and Climate Responsibility Policy (PRSAC).

The BCB joined the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) on March 25, 2020, and, on September 8, 2020, launched the “Sustainability Dimension” of its work agenda (Agenda BC#), which aims to promote sustainable finance, proper management of social, environmental and climate risks in the National Financial System (SFN), and integration of ESG variables into BCB’s decision-making process.Continue Reading Brazil’s Central Bank Set to Incorporate Social, Environmental and Climate Factors into Financial Regulation

Brazil - Brasilia - Congress

On March 4, 2021, Brazil ratified the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (“Nagoya Protocol” or “Protocol”). Starting on June, 2, 2021, the country becomes a party to the Protocol and will be able to actively take part in discussions and decision-making, including by participating in the next Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol (COP-MOP 4) scheduled for October 2021.

Brazil is the most biodiverse country in the world, and the ratification comes 10 years after the signing of the Protocol on February 2, 2011. In the meantime, the country passed its own regulations on biodiversity, notably Law 13,123 of May 20, 2015 (Brazilian Biodiversity Law), which provides for access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge, as well as benefit-sharing mechanisms. The Brazilian Biodiversity Law is the national legislation for implementing the Nagoya Protocol and one of the key access and benefit-sharing (ABS) legislations, which places benefit-sharing obligations on manufacturers of finished products developed from Brazilian genetic resources (regardless of who previously accessed the resources).Continue Reading Brazil Ratifies the Nagoya Protocol: One Step Further to Unlock the Potential of Brazilian Biodiversity

Risk Management

With the surge of climate and stakeholder litigation all over the globe–comprising climate, supply chain and human rights issues–not only should governments be concerned, but mainly the private sector. It is not new that, in addition to creating stakeholder engagement and pushing forward public policies, ESG concerns pose significant reputational and financial risks, particularly to corporations. This is not only true for those companies dedicated to carbon-intensive activities or exposed to supply chain liabilities, but also to financial institutions enabling the development and expansion of such activities.

This is a particularly relevant matter in Brazil, which already relies on a well-established legal and case law framework capable of supporting sanctions and prosecution against corporations and financial institutions deemed liable in connection with environmental degradation.

In this Blog Post, we discuss the existing legal framework in Brazil with respect to environmental degradation, and how that framework might apply to the broader range of ESG issues, from climate to supply chain and human rights liability.Continue Reading Climate and Stakeholder Litigation: Why Does It Matter to Companies Operating In Brazil?