Livro: The toxic legacy of engie fram capital in Brazil
Autor: (Org. Arayara)
Map of the Contamination and Destruction Caused by the Jorge Lacerda Thermoelectric Complex and the Coal Mines that Supply it 3 THE TOXIC LEGACY OF ENGIE FRAM CAPITAL IN BRAZIL Through the publication “THE TOXIC AND CRIMINAL LEGACY OF ENGIE – FRAM CAPITAL IN BRAZIL: A Map of the Contamination and Destruction Caused by the Jorge Lacerda Thermoelectric Complex and the Coal Mines that supply it”, ARAYARA. ORG – ARAYARA International Institute, OCM – Mineral Coal Observatory and COAL WATCH make public to the world a criminal denunciation that exposes the true map of contamination and socio environmental destruction caused by low efficiency coal mining for energy purposes in the south of Brazil, more specifically in the state of Santa Catarina. Since March 2021, ARAYARA.ORG has been carrying out recurrent collections of sediment, water, and soil in the surroundings of the Jorge Lacerda Thermoelectric Plant (CTJL) and the mines that supply it. The results of the analysis of these materials confirm data published by the ACP (Civil Public Action) of Coal on waters with high levels of acidity and concentrations of sulphates, manganese, and zinc above what is recommended by national and international agencies. The contam ated areas are residential and agricultural, exposing a population of more than one million people to severe health risks. ARAYARA.ORG’s technical team confirms in this diagnosis that the environmental damage caused by the coal production chain has left a trail of destruction throughout the JORGE LACERDA TERRITORY – Coal Contamination Valley. Numerous academic studies, articles, reports of Public Civil Actions proposed by the Brazilian Federal Public Prosecutor (MPF), investigative field surveys, laboratory analyses and interviews with the population carried out by ARAYARA. ORG support these conclusions. The costs for the environmental recovery and compensation for damages caused to the health of the population of this territory are estimated at over R$6.5 billion, of which R$1.5 billion have already been contemplated in Public Civil Actions in progress or under execution, and another R$5 billion shall be required in new actions after updating the diagnosis of environmental, climatic, social, economic and public health impacts and damage that are being conducted by the teams of technicians and experts from ARAYARA. ORG, OCM – Mineral Coal Observatory and COAL WATCH, in studies on the JORGE LACERDA TERRITORY – Coal Contamination Valley, which include more than 47 municipalities in the State of Santa Catarina/Brazil and impact almost 1 million people. According to the Brazilian Association of Mineral Coal (ABCM), 97% of the coal mined in the Santa Catarina coal basin is consumed by the Jorge Lacerda Thermoelectric Complex. This complex was designed in the 1960s and was part of the state-owned park of Eletrosul until it was privatised in 1997, when it became the property of the current ENGIE Brasil, a company that belongs to the French group ENGIE. In October 2021, ENGIE confirmed the sale of the Jorge Lacerda Complex to Fram Capital, in order to decarbonise its electricity generation portfolio. Throughout the process of selling the Jorge Lacerda Thermoelectric Complex, ENGIE sought to exempt itself from liability for the environmental damage caused throughout the coal cycle outside of electricity generation, however, all existing jurisprudence and legislation in Brazil hold ENGIE-FRAM jointly liable for the damage caused by the mining, processing, transportation and tailings of the coal consumed by itself. ENGIE-Fram will not be able to clear its name without taking responsibility for recovering the enormous JORGE LACERDA TERRITORY – Coal Contamination Valley, an area of 10,000 km2 destroyed by the coal cycle, and recognising and compensating for the damage to the health of almost a million people living in the region.