A new bill recently approved by the Senate in Brazil undermines the licensing of projects that can have huge environmental impacts —just a few months before COP30.
The Devastation Bill—that is what civil society and environmentalists are calling a bill that has just been approved in the Senate in Brazil and that could—as the name suggests—have devastating consequences to the environment in the country.
Brazil is facing a threat that could change the game for the environment and the climate months before hosting COP30 – and to the worst. The Senate in Brazil decided to ignore years of public debate and technical briefings and fast track the approval of an Environmental Licensing Bill that, under the excuse of ‘reduced bureaucracy’, basically undermines all safeguards around environmental and social harm. The bill, as it is, will drastically weaken the environmental licensing process in the country, and is considered the biggest attack on Brazilian environmental regulation in recent decades. The Amazon rainforest is already close to a tipping point, where it may no longer be able to produce rain and sustain itself as an ecosystem. The Amazon is vital in the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises, and it is home to millions of people that depend on a healthy forest for their lives.
What is at stake
Among the most critical points of the bill is the authorisation for companies responsible for projects with significant environmental impacts to declare themselves exempt from licensing through online forms. Based on this self-declaration of “commitment to the environment”, the Brazilian government and other environmental agencies, which should oversee risk assessments, studies and analysis, will have limited capacity. The bill also proposes to limit the liability of companies for environmental crimes caused or aggravated by their enterprises. The Brazilian population has already suffered from many criminal environmental disasters in the past few years. This decision could pave the way to new ones while not holding corporations accountable for their actions.
There are other serious points included in the law, such as the exemption from licensing for agricultural activities—which could lead to an avalanche of deforestation nationwide, and to the pollution of rivers and other bodies of water.
The rights of Indigenous Peoples, Quilombolas and other local communities are also under threat: the bill restricts the participation of authorities responsible for protecting the rights of these populations to cases where their territories are formally approved or titled. Currently, there are over 500 hundred of Indigenous lands pending to be recognised by the Brazilian government. All over the world, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities are the true guardians of forests, and that is no different in the Amazon. To keep the Amazon forest healthy and standing, we need to ensure IP&LCs lead the way to forest protection and have direct access to funds to continue with sustainable forest management.
Public outcry and next steps
The approval of the bill by the Brazilian Senate on May 21 was received with outrage by environmentalists, Indigenous Peoples and members of civil society, who have been denouncing the gravity of the bill. The approved text now goes back to the Chamber of Deputies for final approval, and after that President Lula could still veto the whole text or parts of it. Congress can overcome the veto.
On June 1, thousands of people took to the streets in the entire country to protest the law. The demonstrations included scientists, members of academia, environmental organisations and civil society. They demanded the politicians stop the proposal and work on a bill that is inclusive of civil society participation.
Passing this bill would be devastating and take Brazil several steps back from the role of climate leader it wants to achieve, just a few months away from COP30, where world representatives will take on forest protection and the future of our climate. Our planet depends on healthy ecosystems—like the Amazon rainforest—to regulate its climate and protect biodiversity. Brazil urgently needs an update to its environmental licensing, but one that is strong, inclusive, and that respects the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
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