- Find out more: Congress overrides veto on environmental permits and gives a major victory to the rural community
According to NGOs working in the sector, the return of tools such as self-licensing, the relaxation of Atlantic Forest protections and the exclusion of indigenous people from consultations could jeopardize the goals adopted by Brazil at COP30. Therefore, the organizations stated, in a note published by the Climate Observatory, that they would approach the STF to question the cancellation of the veto.
“In addition to being unconstitutional, it puts the health and safety of Brazilians at risk, leads to widespread destruction of our ecosystems and violates the climate goals of the country, which just hosted COP30,” the memo from the Climate Observatory said.
Since the law was passed in the Chamber, some provisions have been determined to be unconstitutional, such as the Environmental Licensing and Commitment (LAC), obtained by self-declaration, for medium-sized enterprises; Eliminate the obligation to consult with indigenous peoples and quilombola residents regarding works in undemarcated territories; The amendment changed parts of the Atlantic Forest Act, which may allow more deforestation.
Government leadership identifies six points
In May, when the bill reached the Senate, six unconstitutional matters in the text were highlighted by government leadership:
- The Union is empowered to determine the activities that must be licensed to states and municipalities;
- Convert Funai, Iphan, ICMBio, Fundação Palmares and the Ministry of Health into advisory bodies only;
- Increased likelihood of license exemption;
- Exemption from licensing for agroforestry activities or enterprises (which combine agricultural, forestry and livestock activities);
- LAC, which, according to the STF decision, is only constitutional for small projects with low impact and low risk;
- Automatic renewal of expired environmental licenses without consultation with the competent environmental authorities.
NGOs warned on Thursday that the new law would pressure national ecosystems toward collapse. Experts say that as protection standards decline, deforestation could increase.
– Increases the risk of deforestation, stress on the rainfall system and extreme events such as those we are already witnessing in the country. By making this decision, Congress takes responsibility for the social, environmental and legal consequences that may arise, including increased jurisdiction – says Clarissa Presutti, Public Policy Specialist at WWF-Brazil.
The Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) considered logging a “historic defeat for Brazilians” that “pavees the way for a lack of control.” The most damaging point of the text, the institute points out, is that it dismantles the prevention and control of damage to the environment, as well as preventing indigenous people from being consulted on actions that have an impact on their lands.
– We need to be more efficient with regard to environmental permits, but not at the expense of current and future insecurity and risks to the population. Didn’t our brilliant senators understand the message nature was giving us? COP30 shows that we have gone beyond the limits. We have to rethink our relationship with our rivers and forests. We will not become more in tune with the environment in which we live through continuous hasty and dysfunctional learning – said André Guimarães, Executive Director of IPAM and Special Envoy for Civil Society to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30).
In a statement, the Arrayara Institute said that Congress’s vote weakens social and environmental protections and makes it impossible to achieve the climate goals assumed by Brazil at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30). The institute noted that “Congress turned its back on the country, opened the gate and allowed the herd to pass through.”
Renata Prata, Advocacy and Projects Coordinator at Arayara, highlighted the return of License to Join and Commitment (LAC), self-licensing, as one of the biggest problems with Congress’ veto override.
— It is an imminent danger, because it affects projects with moderate pollution potential, such as mining tailings dams. With LAC, the entrepreneur simply fills out an online form to start building the project, ignoring technical analysis and the risks of new tragedies. He also notes that the matter will be questioned again in the Supreme Court, since the court recognizes that companies with moderate polluting capacity cannot simply be subject to LAC law.
“Colombre’s betrayal”
The Climate Observatory reported that the President of the Senate, Davi Alcolombre (Uniao-AP), “betrayed” the agreement with Lula by calling for the abolition of the veto. The NGO states that the President issued the temporary measure that accelerated the deadlines for the Special Environmental License (LAE), established by Alcolumbre.
– The National Congress has just buried environmental licenses. In addition to the criminal setback in environmental legislation, with oversimplification and priority for self-licensing, the provisions that returned with the abolition of the veto contradict the rights of indigenous people and quilombola, give a blank check to subnational entities to do whatever they want with licensing, restrict the field of application of environmental licensing and reduce the responsibility of financial institutions, among other absurdities – said Solly Araujo, Coordinator of Public Policy Affairs at the Climate Observatory.
Alice Dandara de Assis Correa, a lawyer at the Social-Environmental Institute (ISA), explained that the law will cause legal uncertainty
Today Congress institutionalized environmental racism and amplified conflicts in traditional territories. If this law is maintained, we will have great legal uncertainty and weak social and environmental protections. There will be no other way out but to legitimize this rule, which was born unconstitutional.
Federal MP Nilto Tatu (PT), head of the Chamber’s environmental front, reiterated his group’s position that environmental licensing “is not an obstacle, but a fundamental guarantee of life, economy and legal security.”
– Abolishing the veto on the so-called “destruction plan” not only violates the precautionary principle, but also jeopardizes the achievement of the climate goals that Brazil presented to the world during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which was held a few months ago in Belém. It is a decision that weakens Brazil’s position on the international scene and disrespects the efforts of millions of Brazilians who believe in a just and sustainable development model.
Ana Cristina Moiri, CEO of Ecos Brasil, said a collapse becomes worse when it occurs immediately after the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30).
— The COP made important progress, such as recognizing the role of indigenous, quilombola, people of African descent and local communities in confronting the climate crisis. Therefore, overturning the veto that prevented the issuance of the license without consultation with Funai and the Palmares Foundation in unapproved indigenous lands and quilombola lands is even more serious.
The special environmental license will remain under consideration
President Lula had vetoed 59 items in the text. On Thursday, Congress had already considered 52 provisions and repealed them all. The remaining seven clauses refer to the so-called Special Environmental License (LAE), included in the amended text by the President of the Senate, Davy of Colombia (Uniao-AP), which accelerates the consideration of projects of “national interest”, such as oil exploration in the tropical margin.
These provisions will be discussed during the processing of the temporary measure that created the LAE along with the approval of the text of the new licence, which expires next week.
— Once again, the National Congress has legislated against the well-being of the population and social and environmental rights, making it clear that the collective interest is hostage to predatory sectors. Today’s disastrous vote only preserved the LAE’s veto power, a political move in the Senate President’s personal interest. All other vetoes that sought to preserve the essence of national environmental policy were abolished. Without it, the new law jeopardizes the union’s legislative prerogatives, the supervisory power of state bodies, legal security, and the sustainable development of environmental projects in Brazil, said Gabriela Nepomuceno, a public policy specialist at Greenpeace Brazil.
State Representative Carlos Mink (PSB-RJ), former Minister of the Environment, stated that eliminating the veto would mean leaving indigenous peoples vulnerable.
He said – They waited for the COP to pass and they want to pass the saw on environmental licensing.
What does environmental licensing look like after the veto is overturned:
- LAC can also be used for medium-impact projects. With the veto lifted, states and municipalities can enforce licensing by committing and adhering to activities with moderate pollution potential. In practice, more projects may be subject to simplified, self-advertising licensing.
- States and municipalities are free to set their own rules. Removing the veto frees federal entities to set domestic standards – such as enterprise size, licensing methods and activities entering the LAC region. Each government will be able to make licensing more flexible or stringent as it wishes.
- Protection of the Atlantic Forest has been relaxed. For environmentalists, Congress, by overriding the veto, opened a loophole to limit special protections under the Atlantic Forest Act in cases of suppression of native plants.
- Consultation with indigenous and quilombola peoples is more restricted. Abolishing the veto limits the role of Funai and the Palmares Foundation. Peoples and territories still in the recognition phase may be excluded from the assessment, reducing the scope of consultation provided for in the Constitution.
- Producers with a pending CAR are exempt from licensing. With the veto overturned, rural landowners still awaiting ratification of the CAR agreement may be exempt from requiring environmental licensing. Pre-registration analysis is no longer mandatory.
- Environmental conditions only apply to direct impacts. Congress recreated the rule barring the requirement of compensatory measures for indirect impacts—such as strain on public services or environmental impacts far removed from the project. Compensation is more limited.
- Conservation unit bodies lose technical veto power. The appearance of UC managers is no longer mandatory and binding. Projects affecting the unit or buffer zone can continue even without obtaining technical approval from the body responsible for the protected area.
- Financial institutions have reduced liability. Removing the veto weakens the requirement for banks to ensure that the financed project obtains a regular environmental permit.