Bushfires in Brazil: the environmental crisis and its legal implications

| Beitrag von Matheus de Souza Depieri

Global warming is an undeniable phenomenon and for decades, scientists have pointed out evidence that the climate-warming trends are very likely caused by human activities. Nowadays, despite the urgency of coordinated global action to prevent and tackle the environmental crisis, we can observe a lack of seriousness on the part of nation states worldwide. A clear example of such neglect is the Brazilian government’s approach to the recent bushfires in the Amazonian forest, since the government has not only failed to prevent this environmental harm but has also acted irresponsibly in responding to the crisis. In this context, this article will briefly analyze (i) the human rights impacts caused by massive bushfires, (ii) the standards for national liability in case of transnational environmental harms, and (iii) whether Brazil can be held liable for human rights violations caused by the 2019 bushfires.