"Social-environmental Justice is not only about caring for nature, but also caring for society and people". Highlighting the awareness and the importance of thinking about the role of each one to preserve the environment, the president of the Court of Justice of Tocantins (TJTO), Justice Etelvina Maria Sampaio Felipe, opened, this Thursday (June 22nd), the III Seminar of Socio-environmental Management: Climate Change and Effectiveness of Socio-environmental Justice.
The president also pointed out that events such as the III Seminar of Socio-environmental Management are essential to promote training and awareness about climate change, "with the mission of creating opportunities for people and entities to know the causes of global warming and act to overcome them”.
The third edition of the seminar is held by the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins, through the Coordination of Social and Environmental Management and Social Responsibility (Cogersa), Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (ESMAT) and continues until this Friday (June 23rd), addressing climate change and its current impacts.
Justice Ângela Prudente, president of the Management Committee of the Sustainable Logistic Plan (PLS) of the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins, brought numbers released by the United Nations (UN) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on the consequences of climate change around the world and that not only affect the environment, but also society.
Worsening inequalities
In her speech, the president of the PLS said that it is necessary to look at those who are disproportionately affected by environmental impacts. "When we talk about Socio-Environmental Justice, we have the commitment to ensure that the negative effects of climate change do not further aggravate existing inequalities in our society," she noted, adding that it is necessary to recognize that the most vulnerable populations, often the least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, are the ones who suffer most from the consequences of these phenomena.
The Justice also recalled that the Judiciary has an essential role in this context of climate crisis "bringing to light the harmful consequences of human actions or omissions. And for her, science is a great tool that allows "the judicial determination of climate damages and the collection of mitigation actions and climate adaptation from public and private actors.
Historical Context
Justice Marco Villas Boas, General Director of the Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (ESMAT), made a historical retrospective on the emergence of the Environment theme as the central core of the transformation of society in which men could have a better and healthier life. He also emphasized the emergence of new technologies, including for exploring other planets, and said that the problem in Brazil is illicitness. According to the Justice, the lawful is regulated and the Judiciary is always called to intervene in case of any deviation.
"I think that seminars like these, well planned and thought out involving the whole society, draw attention to the socio-environmental responsibility of all of us. That from the moment we are born and breathe we are consuming natural resources. In our day to day work, we consume natural resources. All the time, what we are going to do we depend on natural resources, but we need to use them rationally."
The Secretary of Environment and Water Resources of the State of Tocantins, Marcello Lelis, present at the seminar, began his speech emphasizing that the world is preparing for a sixth economic wave, called the sustainability wave. "Perhaps hope lies precisely there, in an environment with value. In this scenario, he said that the environmental agenda is a priority in the government and recalled that Tocantins was the first subnational State in the planet to trade its carbon credits in the market. "When we certify the credits of the State of Tocantins, the entire environmental sustainability policy will change”.
Cultural Moment
The opening of the seminar included a performance by “Viva Música” Orchestry - an extension project of the Federal University of the State of Tocantins. Besides this, among the attractions are the exhibition of the film “Amazônia Viva” with a 3D tool - IRI Institute and the exhibition of the painting "Gardens of Tocantins", by the young artist Júlia d'Paula.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Chief Justice, Justice Maysa Vendramini Rosal; the Deputy General Attorney, José Demóstenes de Abreu; the representative of the Special Committee on Environmental Law of the Brazilian Bar Association - TO, Robson Gonçalves; the President of the Municipal Foundation for the Environment, Meire Carreira; representing the Mayor of the city of Palmas, Cinthia Ribeiro; the Dean of the State University of the State of Tocantins, Augusto Rezende Campos; the General Manager of Embrapa Fishing and Aquaculture, Danielle de Bem Luiz; the President of the Sanitation Agency of the State of Tocantins, Antônio Davi Goveia Júnior; the Director of Institutional Relations of Energisa, Alan Kardec Moreira; the President of the Association of Magistrates of the State of Tocantins, Judge Odete Almeida; the Mayor of the municipality of Monte Santo, representing the Association of Municipalities of the State of Tocantins (ATM), Nurse Nezita Martins Neta and Karina Balestra, representing the Federal University of the State of Tocantins.
