In blow to Lula, Brazil Congress revives controversial environmental bill

Brazil’s conservative-led Congress on Thursday reinstated much of a bill that makes it easier for companies to obtain environmental permits, angering the left-wing government and environmental groups.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vetoed dozens of provisions in what has been dubbed the “devastation bill,” but Congress has the power to overturn those actions.

Lawmakers overturned about 80 percent of Lula’s vetoes, a major blow to his government just days after Brazil finished hosting the COP30 U.N. climate talks.

The bill “kills environmental licensing in the country,” said the Climate Observatory, a coalition of NGOs, promising to take legal action against the bill.

For some permits, a simple declaration of the company’s commitment to preserving the environment will be sufficient.

This decision “contradicts the government’s efforts on the environment and climate, just after hosting COP30. Very bad news”, wrote on X the Minister of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann.

The government had warned the day before that overturning the vetoes could have “immediate and difficult to reverse effects”, citing “the alarming increase in extreme climate disasters”.

MP Sostenes Cavalcante, an ally of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, welcomed the decision, accusing Lula of seeking to “undermine agro-industry, the only sector still economically successful in Brazil”.

The Climate Observatory accused congressional leaders of hypocrisy for approving what it called “the worst environmental setback in Brazilian history” just days after presenting themselves as “climate defenders” at COP30.

The NGO said the bill will impact everything from new major agricultural projects to mining projects to the controversial paving of a major highway in the Amazon, which will be exempt from environmental permits.

Lula can boast of an overall positive environmental record, having overseen a sharp decline in deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

However, he has been criticized by environmentalists for supporting a controversial oil exploration project near the mouth of the Amazon River, which began in October.

rsr-ll/fb/ksb