\n<\/p>\n
Brazil\u2019s president, Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, has signed into law a controversial bill that scientists and environmentalists had dubbed the \u201cdevastation bill\u201d, but vetoed key articles that would have in effect dismantled the country\u2019s environmental licensing system.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the final day to either sanction or veto the law, Lula struck down or amended 63 of the 398 provisions in a bill that, as approved by congress last month, had been regarded as the most significant setback to Brazil\u2019s environmental protections in four decades.<\/p>\n
Environmental campaigners had urged the president to veto the bill in its entirety, but many welcomed Lula\u2019s decision and are now calling on civil society to mobilise to pressure lawmakers into upholding the vetoes.<\/p>\n
That will not be an easy task for the Lula administration, given that the largely opposition-controlled congress has repeatedly defeated key government proposals \u2013 including by overturning previous presidential vetoes.<\/p>\n
An escalating political standoff further complicates the challenge: lawmakers aligned with former president Jair Bolsonaro are blocking legislative activity, demanding the passage of a bill granting amnesty to the far-right leader and hundreds of others accused of taking part in a failed coup attempt in 2022.<\/p>\n
Lula\u2019s ministers \u2013 speaking at a press conference in the capital Bras\u00edlia in the president\u2019s absence \u2013 expressed confidence in the government\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
After Congress approved the bill last month, the environment minister, Marina Silva, described it as a \u201cdeath blow\u201d to Brazil\u2019s licensing framework, saying that it threatened the country\u2019s pledge to eliminate deforestation by 2030.<\/p>\n
But on Friday, she said the revised legislation meant that \u201cour targets to reach zero deforestation, and our goal to cut CO2 emissions by between 59% and 67%, remain fully on track\u201d.<\/p>\n
One of the most heavily criticised provisions of the bill would have allowed projects classified as having \u201cmedium\u201d environmental impact to obtain licences through a self-declared online form \u2013 without prior studies or regulatory review.<\/p>\n
That clause was among those vetoed, as was another that would have excluded most of the Indigenous and Quilombola communities from having a say in licensing decisions affecting their territories.<\/p>\n
Lula, however, preserved a provision allowing the federal government to fast-track \u201cstrategic\u201d or \u201cpriority\u201d projects \u2013 a move that could pave the way for oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River. The project has been championed by the president, but heavily criticised by environmentalists.<\/p>\n
Groups such as the NGO SOS Mata Atl\u00e2ntica welcomed the vetoes, but said they would carry out a detailed review of both the discarded and remaining provisions \u201cto continue mobilising civil society and ensure that congress upholds the gains secured\u201d.<\/p>\n
ActionAid\u2019s climate justice specialist, Jessica Siviero, said that \u201ca full veto was essential, but the points that were struck down still represent progress\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mighty Earth\u2019s global director, Jo\u00e3o Gon\u00e7alves, also welcomed Lula\u2019s vetoes and said he hoped congress would uphold them, warning that \u201cif this destructive bill becomes law \u2013 just weeks ahead of Cop30 in Bel\u00e9m \u2013 it threatens to erode Brazil\u2019s credibility on the global stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Friday\u2019s press conference, Lula\u2019s ministers appeared careful not to criticise congress, stating that there were \u201cpositive\u201d elements in the bill, which had been backed by agribusiness and mining interests as a way to \u201ccut red tape\u201d and \u201cspeed up\u201d licensing procedures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope to be able to streamline licensing processes without compromising their quality, which is essential for environmental protection at a time of climate crisis, biodiversity loss and desertification,\u201d said Silva.<\/p>\n
Should Congress overturn the president\u2019s vetoes, environmentalists and legal experts have warned the move could trigger a wave of lawsuits \u2013 both challenging the legislation itself and contesting projects approved through self-licensing \u2013 on the grounds that they violate Brazil\u2019s constitution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brazil\u2019s president, Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, has signed into law a controversial bill that scientists and environmentalists had dubbed the \u201cdevastation bill\u201d, but vetoed key articles that would have in effect dismantled the country\u2019s environmental licensing system. On Friday, the final day to either sanction or veto the law, Lula struck down or amended<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[8378,142,3160,2590,8377,2599,788,1059,181,7699],"class_list":{"0":"post-14774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-articles","9":"tag-bill","10":"tag-brazil","11":"tag-brazils","12":"tag-devastation","13":"tag-environmental","14":"tag-key","15":"tag-president","16":"tag-signs","17":"tag-vetoes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}