The Inconstitutionality of the Payment for Environmental Services at the New Forest Code - Federal Law 12.651/2012

This paper aims to demonstrate the unconstitutionality of Art. 41, I, of the Federal Law 12.651/2012 (New Forest Code), which deals with the Payment for Environmental Services, due to its incompatibility with the character of common use of the constitutional environmental good. The concept of environmental good is analyzed in the light of the Federal Constitution of 1988. Subsequently, the main characteristics of payments for environmental services are presented in accordance with the 2012 Forest Code and the current doctrine. Finally, two central points were demonstrated that reveal the unconstitutionality of such an economic instrument. The first consists in the incompatibility of the payments for environmental services according to the legal regime for environmental good established in the Art. 225 of the Brazilian Constitution, which is impassable. The second is found in the fundamental inconsistencies of this new policy that jeopardize the constitutional protection of the environment, giving rise to the application of the Precautionary Principle