On December 20, 2021, AMOREMA and AMORETGRAP filed a Public Civil Action (ACP) against Sustainable Carbon - Projetos Ambientais Ltda., Ecomapuá Conservação Ltda., Eccaplan Consultoria em Sustentabilidade, Bio Assets Ativos Ambientais Ltda, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Consultores Ltda., Barilla G. e R. F.lli S.P.A., Banco Santander S.A., ISA CTEEP - Companhia de Transmissão de Energia Elétrica Paulista, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Auditores Independentes, BB MAPFRE Participações S.A., IATA International Air Transport Association, Swire Pacific Offshore Operations (PTE.) Ltd, Inter-American Development Bank, Companhia de Locação das Américas, Groupe Air France, 17er Oberlandenergie GMBH, Wienerberger GMBH, Brockhaus Stahl GMBH and other companies which acquired carbon credits from the Ecomapuá Project that could not be identified by the plaintiffs.
It is alleged that the defendant companies illicitly traded in the voluntary market carbon credits generated in or around the Mapuá Extractive Reserve (RESEX Mapuá) and Terra Grande-Pracuúba Extractive Reserve (RESEX Terra Grande-Pracuúba), located in the Amazon, in the state of Pará, which characterizes illegal takeover of these assets. The defendant companies would obtain an economic advantage from the misappropriation of credits, due to the environmental preservation promoted by the traditional extractivist population, without receiving fair remuneration or compensation. The Extractive Reserves are, according to specific legislation, public lands of the Federal Union, whose real right of use is granted to the traditional populations that inhabit them. It is in discussion the generation and sale of carbon credits from "Ecomapuá Project" from 2015 in the Amazon, prepared and/or marketed by the companies Ecomapuá, Sustainable Carbon, Bio Assets and Evento Neutro, which consists of the sale of assets from REDD+ projects (credits generated by avoided deforestation, sustainable management and increased forest carbon stocks), is discussed. The other defendant companies are sued for having acquired the assets without the necessary diligence, therefore entering into void contracts due to illicit objects, or for being supporters of the project. It is claimed that areas of the Project, consisting of Fazendas Brasileiro, Lago do Jacaré and São Domingos, overlap with the territory of RESEX Mapuá and Terra Grande-Pracuúba, where hundreds of families live and, therefore, the certified credits from these areas should belong to the extractivist communities that inhabit them.
It is argued that the preservation of forests in the project areas comes from the activities of the extractivist communities in the region and that the sale of the assets of the Ecomapuá Project had the certification of "social carbon," stating that there would be counterparts for the communities, which did not occur. Thus, the plaintiffs claim that the companies misused the name, image, and cultural heritage of the communities and altered the truth of the facts by advertising the socio-environmental responsibility of the Project. The associations argue that the companies caused collective material and moral damages to the extractivist families and incurred in enrichment by intervention. They request: (i) that the defendants which sold carbon credits submit detailed reports on said assets; (ii) that the defendants submit contracts and other documents on the transactions carried out within the scope of the Ecomapuá Project; (iii) the joint and several condemnation of the defendants to pay the plaintiffs compensation for material damages, restitution of the benefits earned by the defendants and compensation for collective moral damage; and (iv) order, under penalty of a fine, that the defendants cease to buy or sell carbon credits from within or around the Mapuá and Terra Grande-Pracuúba Extractive Reserves and cease to use the name and image of the extractivist populations, their associations and the respective Extractive Reserves.
Case Documents:
Filing Date | Type | File | Summary |
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10/12/2021 | Petition | Download | Initial Petition from AMOREMA and AMORETGRAP (in Portuguese) |