There is a saying: you change either through love or through pain. On the climate front, the world didn’t change for love, and now we feel the pain of that decision. However, a new element may become part of the popular saying: the pocket. It’s because The number of legal cases brought around the world seeking some form of redress or compensation from companies and governments for climate-related actions is growing every year.. According to the data, at least 230 new cases were opened worldwide in 2023 alone, of which 55% were registered in the United States. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment surveyinstitute created London School of Economics and Political Sciencein 2008.

• You Americans top ranking of countries with most climate disputes documented to be nearly two-thirds of the total. Of the 2,666 cases worldwide, 1,745 are in the United States.
• ANDThe UK is in second place.of these, 139 are open, of which 24 were started last year.
• Wcomplete top 5 countries with the most climate disputes in the world: Australia (132 in total, 6 in 2023), Brazil (82 in total, 10 in 2023) and Germany (60 cases in total, 7 in 2023).

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“We may have problems with investment, which gives the impression that Brazil does not have sound environmental policies,” says Marina Freire, a partner at Madrona Fialho Advogados.Climate litigation on national lands is evolving differently.
• 22 cases were brought to different instances of the prosecutor’s office.
• Civil society actors initiated 21 processes.
• Other government bodies such as Ibama, the Ministry of Environment, filed 15 cases.
• Even political parties have gained space in these cases, opening 14 cases.

Most climate litigation in the country is directed against the Brazilian state itself, but the number of lawsuits against private companies has increased and now accounts for almost 40% of the total..

Activists are calling on Dutch bank ING to stop financing the climate crisis. (Photo: Milieeudefensie/Muzi Ndiweni)

More than half of the lawsuits in Brazil are related to land use and forestry issues, with the same number of lawsuits filed against government agencies for their failure to act, as well as against individuals and companies directly responsible for deforestation..

• Amazon is the focus of 34 of these actions.

• According to the study, there has been an increase in the past year in which arguments about climate, forest protection and human rights have been combined.

• One of the most striking examples is the lawsuit brought by Community Ministry Parawhich has initiated a series of lawsuits against companies for what is called “forest carbon appropriation”.

This term describes a scenario in which a municipality has issued an ordinance allowing activities without prior consultation with affected communities, while companies are accused of illegally obtaining and selling carbon credits on a voluntary market. Such activities are considered a violation of the rights of traditional communities, highlighting the complex interaction between environmental conservation efforts and the protection of the rights of indigenous and local communities.

According to Madrona Fialho Advogados partner, Marina FreireHowever, the 82 disputes existing in Brazil represent only a fraction of the total number of cases investigated and resolved administratively. “We still have many situations that are being closed prematurely without legal action being taken.” For a specialist this is Brazil’s natural and continental characteristics make the country vulnerable to a growing number of climate disputes..

According to his analysis, most actions in Brazil affect indigenous people, small businesses, carbon credits, enterprises in areas of influence on indigenous communities and deforestation. “I haven’t seen any symbolic action on an international scale recently, but I believe it will come to that one day.”

Elderly women for climate protection celebrate the case sent to the Swiss Federal Court (Photo: Greenpeace/Pierrot Goude)

Considering the current scenario, the question remains up in the air: what are the consequences of taking a position fourth country in the world with the most climate disputes Can you get it for Brazil? For Marina, the answer lies in how the country responds to these cases. “It will depend on the reaction of our judiciary. We can show that an effective response was taken, that precautions were taken to develop new regulations and public policies. Otherwise, we may have problems with investments, which will create the impression that Brazil does not have a safe policy on environmental issues and that investing is risky.”