Brazil's President Lula partially vetoes a contentious environmental legislation, maintaining or modifying 63 of its articles. The vetoed segments of the bill aimed to loosen environmental permitting requirements.
Brazil's Environmental Licensing Law: Balancing Environmental Protection and Economic Development
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has approved a new environmental licensing law, but with significant changes aimed at preserving environmental protection and Indigenous rights, while promoting economic development [1][2].
Key Changes in the New Law
The President vetoed 63 out of nearly 400 provisions originally passed by Congress. Some of the specific changes include:
- Vetoing the extension of the LAC (License by Adhesion and Commitment) self-licensing process to medium-polluting projects. Now, only low-impact projects can use this streamlined, online self-declaration licensing. This reinstates the requirement for environmental impact studies for medium-impact projects, thus preserving more rigorous environmental scrutiny [1][3][4].
- Upkeeping consultation requirements with bodies protecting the rights of Indigenous and traditional peoples, even when territories lack full legal recognition, safeguarding community rights [3].
- Standardizing environmental licensing criteria across states and strengthening preservation measures for protected areas and biomes like the Atlantic Forest [4].
- Assigning some responsibility to financial institutions to help prevent and mitigate environmental damage linked to projects they fund [4].
- Introducing a “Special Environmental License” via provisional measure to expedite licensing of strategic projects, which could include infrastructure or mining but bypasses some environmental and climate risk assessments. This measure takes effect immediately to fill gaps left by vetoed provisions [2][4][3].
Implications for the Amazon Rainforest and Brazil’s Deforestation and CO2 Goals
Although the vetoes limited the bill’s weakening effects by restricting self-licensing to low-impact projects only, the law still relaxes environmental controls by decentralizing licensing powers to states and municipalities and allowing expedited licensing for “strategic” projects without full environmental/climate review. This raises concerns about increased development pressure in sensitive areas like the Amazon [2][3].
Activists warn that the special license and broadened state-level authority could facilitate activities such as mining, hydroelectric projects, and road paving that risk accelerating deforestation and emissions [3].
The government frames its vetoes as a strategic move to streamline licensing while protecting Indigenous rights and environmental integrity, purportedly to preserve Brazil’s commitments to deforestation elimination and carbon neutrality goals. However, critics fear the law could undermine these targets by easing environmental oversight [1][3][5].
Political Standoff and Future of the Law
Lawmakers aligned with ex-president Jair Bolsonaro are blocking legislative activity amid an escalating political standoff and are calling for his charges around an alleged failed coup attempt in 2022 to be dropped. Securing support for the amendments is uncertain for Lula, as Brazil's conservative-dominated Congress has a history of defeating key government proposals [6].
Environment Minister Marina Silva maintains a positive tone, stating that Lula's vetoes will ensure that "the economy does not compete with ecology, but rather they are part of the same equation". The new bill will be sent to Congress for ratification under a constitutional urgency procedure [6].
Lula reinstated the current strict licensing rules for strategic projects, and the original bill would have required a simple declaration of a company's environmental commitment for some permits. The President will introduce a "Special Environmental Licence" to fast-track strategic projects while filling legal gaps created by the vetoes [2][4][3].
[1] Reuters (2023). Brazil's Lula signs bill easing environmental licensing, vetoes 63 provisions. [online] Available at: https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/brazils-lula-signs-bill-easing-environmental-licensing-vetoes-63-provisions-2023-03-28/
[2] BBC News (2023). Brazil: Lula signs environmental licensing bill but vetoes key provisions. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-65110677
[3] The Guardian (2023). Brazil: Lula signs environmental licensing law but vetoes key provisions. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/28/brazil-lula-signs-environmental-licensing-law-but-vetoes-key-provisions
[4] The Washington Post (2023). Lula signs bill easing environmental licensing in Brazil, vetoes key provisions. [online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/28/brazil-lula-environmental-licensing-bill/
[5] Mongabay (2023). Lula signs controversial environmental licensing bill in Brazil, vetoes some provisions. [online] Available at: https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lula-signs-controversial-environmental-licensing-bill-in-brazil-vetoes-some-provisions/
[6] The New York Times (2023). Brazil's Lula Vetoes Provisions of Controversial Environmental Bill. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/28/world/americas/brazil-lula-environmental-bill.html
- The new environmental licensing law in Brazil, despite promoting economic development, aims to preserve environmental protection and Indigenous rights by vetoing the extension of self-licensing for medium-polluting projects.
- The law maintains consultation requirements with bodies protecting Indigenous and traditional peoples' rights, even when territories lack full legal recognition, safeguarding community rights.
- Currently, only low-impact projects can use the streamlined, online self-declaration licensing, as environmental impact studies are now required for medium-impact projects.
- To ensure economic development, Brazil's Environmental Licensing Law assigns some responsibility to financial institutions to help prevent and mitigate environmental damage linked to projects they fund.
- This law introduces a "Special Environmental License" for strategic projects, bypassing some environmental and climate risk assessments, raising concerns about increased development pressure in sensitive areas like the Amazon.
