What is the price of climate damage caused by illegal deforestation? Seeking strategic solutions to improve climate repair, ABRAMPA (Brazilian Association of Members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Environment) and IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute) are launching a technical note on Friday (13) that proposes guidelines for quantifying and pricing climate damage resulting from the loss of forest vegetation. Illegal deforestation is one of the main sources of gross CO₂ (carbon dioxide) emissions in Brazil, and the document provides an analysis of current practices to improve the repair of damage to the climate system.
The number of lawsuits in Brazil seeking to hold deforesters responsible for climate damage is growing every day. However, there is still a lack of clear and consolidated criteria for measuring the value of the damage caused by illegal deforestation. To remedy this shortcoming, the CNJ (National Council of Justice) has been working to guide the judiciary in assessing environmental impacts with climate repercussions.
The technical note seeks to provide technical support for this work. In this way, the document presents legal grounds for holding deforesters responsible and proposes a science-based methodology for assessing climate damage based on quantifying the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
“The impacts of the loss of native vegetation on the climate system are undeniable and irreversible. It is essential to hold the agents who cause these emissions responsible so that, as well as being fully liable for environmental damage, they are also liable for climate damage. The technical guidelines we are proposing aim to strengthen environmental justice and guarantee fairer and more effective reparations,” says Alexandre Gaio, a prosecutor with the Paraná State Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPPR) and president of ABRAMPA.
The price of deforestation for the climate
To calculate climate damage, the technical note suggests using a minimum value of five US dollars per ton of CO₂. The Amazon Fund sets this value – currently the only official parameter available in Brazil – until an official benchmark adequately considers the ecological and social damage caused by emissions.
The note recommends using the Carbon Calculator (CCAL) to quantify this damage and support the justification for lawsuits, a platform developed by IPAM. The tool makes it possible to estimate the amount of carbon stored in vegetation before deforestation, making it easier to seek redress for climate damage. The calculation can be made for all Brazilian biomes.
“Considering the global emergency imposed by climate change, the courts and public prosecutors’ offices have a fundamental role in playing deforestation monitoring in the Amazon region, the country’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The idea is to motivate prosecutors to estimate the climate damage caused by clearing and burning the forest. To this end, we are making available a platform that calculates this damage, providing scientific support for public civil actions against forest destruction. In this way, we are creating yet another avenue to prevent even greater damage, not just to the climate, but to Brazil’s economy and the future of Brazilians,” says Paulo Moutinho, senior researcher at IPAM.
Sources of emissions in Brazil
The loss of native vegetation, whether through illegal or authorized deforestation or even burning, is among the main sources of CO₂ emissions in Brazil. This is because when trees are cut down or burned, they release the carbon dioxide they had absorbed into the atmosphere. In addition, they no longer act as carbon sinks.
Brazil is the sixth largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the world, contributing 3% of global emissions, behind countries like China and the United States. In 2022, land use was responsible for almost half of national emissions, with 97% of these coming from deforestation. For example, deforestation in the Amazon alone emitted 837 million tons of CO₂.
The technical note was launched at an online event exclusively for members and technicians of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The document prepared by ABRAMPA and IPAM is available here.