Threats to the Brazilian Environment and Social Rights

The Brazilian government is mistaken when it believes it will achieve economic progress by reducing or terminating regulatory standards protecting the environment. Polluting, today, does not generate profit, is causes losses and is harmful for the future of capitalism itself. This is the conclusion reached by the Nobel Prize in economics winners in the year 2018, William Nordhaus and Paul Romer, who have thesis committed to sustainable development, which is key for the present and, especially, future generations of human beings and non-humans in a holistic view.

In the worst-case scenario, environmental degradation and deforestation may have a dramatic negative financial impact of US$ 5 trillion for Brazil until 2050. This is the situation where governance is weakened at the most, deforestation explodes and the Country has to buy carbon credits abroad in order to do its part in the global efforts of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. This was the exact conclusion reached by 10 prominent Brazilian researchers in paper published in the Nature Climate Change, one of the most renowned scientific publications about climate change.

There is no other way for the capitalist democracy than turning towards economic development moved by renewable energy, with the purpose of protecting the environment and to promote social inclusion with good governance. Incidentally, these are the foundations that we can see in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that should guide the world and Brazil.

The modern rule of law must be inserted with wisdom and responsibility in the Era of climate change in order to achieve the goals agreed upon in Paris until the year 2100. In Brazil, we, federal judges, must carry out our duty of applying the Federal Constitution of 1988, the statutes and our precedents for environmental protection in an intergenerational perspective.