The Attorney General’s Office (AGU) and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) filed on Monday (16) before the Federal Court of Pará a lawsuit to collect financial compensation for climate damage.
The lawsuit seeks compensation of R$635 million for illegal cattle ranching in the Jamanxim National Forest, a protected unit located in the Amazon. This is the first action on climate damage brought by ICMBio and AGU.
According to the agencies, the social damage includes damage caused by deforestation, illegal burning, pesticide use, destruction of permanent conservation areas and hindering the regeneration of the degraded area. The bodies in the lawsuit asked the court to vacate the area within 30 days.
During the inspection, ICMBio agents were able to seize about 3,000 head of cattle in deforested areas. The animals were not registered with the Pará Agricultural Inspectorate, and irregular farms were fined and banned by the institute.
During the ceremony announcing the filing of the lawsuit, the Attorney General of the Federation, Jorge Messias, affirmed that the federal government will be strict in punishing environmental crimes. “The federal government will have zero tolerance for environmental crimes. We will not tolerate any type of environmental violations, especially in conservation and preservation areas,” he affirmed.
The damage calculation was based on the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions in the affected area. It is estimated that 1,139,075 tons of carbon were emitted in the 7,075 hectares of the conservation unit affected. Brazil Agency
