Right to healthy environment and climate litigation: the case of ADPF n. 709

Abstract

This article highlights environmental manipulation in the Pantanal and Brazilian Amazon biomes and its impacts on public health, focusing on the Yanomami and Munduruku indigenous communities. The inductive method was adopted, with correlated documentary and bibliographic analysis. The ecological and cultural importance of these biomes is highlighted through deforestation, fires, illegal mining, and the expansion of predatory agribusiness. Transboundary air pollution is intense, aggravating respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in vulnerable populations, such as women and children. The violation of the right to a healthy environment has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and mercury contamination from illegal mining practices, resulting in chronic poisoning and psychosocial and biophysical harm. This scope requires integrated public policies, with more effective and swift monitoring and judicial decision-making. The mere inclusion of sustainable development in guided norms and judicial decisions proves insufficient in the face of state omission and the organized irresponsibility of miners linked to political agents in the context of SDGs 03, 10 and 16. The protection of social, economic and cultural rights indicates that the Action Against a Violation of a Constitutional Fundamental Right – ADPF n. 709 contributes to making sociobiodiversity a protagonist of global climate stability.