Fundamentos epistemológicos da tutela das mudanças climáticas pelo direito brasileiro: evolução do direito ambiental e aplicação do direito climático

Abstract

The general objective of this dissertation was to analyze the implications of climate change for the discipline of environmental law in the Brazilian legal system. The problem that motivated the development of this research refers to the following question: are the epistemological foundations of environmental law capable of protecting the new legal goods that claim legal protection against climate change, or will it be necessary for the emergence of a new legal discipline, called climate law or climate change law? To detail the general objective, as well as seek an answer to the formulated problem, the specific objectives were structured as follows: (i) describe the legal asset protected by environmental law and the candidate for legal asset of climate law, as well as the theories they address scientific autonomy and the framing of climate change within environmental law; (ii) discuss the relationship between international law and national law, as well as the objectives, principles and instruments, in both disciplines; and (iii) demonstrate the particularities of climate law and the differentiating criteria that can be used to contrast it with environmental law. It is a qualitative and quantitative research, using bibliographical and documental techniques. The results show that in the Brazilian legal order, the framing of climate law as a sub-branch of environmental law is the most appropriate, however, it is necessary to understand the need for evolution of environmental law, the impacts of climate change on the imbalance of environment, the particularities of the legal protection of the climate and the criteria for differentiating between environmental law and climate law.