Brazilian lawmakers have enacted a bill that reduces environmental protections, regarded by activists as a major setback in 40 years. The bill, termed the devastation bill, passed Congress despite resistance from over 350 organizations. It is now awaiting approval or a veto from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Critics fear that if it becomes law, it will facilitate deforestation and climate disaster risk due to lax licensing procedures, particularly for medium pollution projects. This change threatens nearly 90% of Brazil's environmental licensing framework, primarily affecting mining and agricultural sectors.
The new law widely referred to as the devastation bill passed in congress in the early hours of Thursday by 267 votes to 116, despite opposition from more than 350 organisations and social movements.
Even if he vetoes the legislation, there is a strong chance that the predominantly conservative congress will overturn that, triggering a likely battle in the supreme court.
One of the main points of criticism of the law is that it allows projects classified as having medium polluting potential to obtain an environmental licence through a self-declared online form without prior impact studies or regulatory review.
According to Araujo, this will affect about 90% of licensing procedures in Brazil, including those for mining companies and the vast majority of agricultural activities.
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