Lula partially vetoes licensing law criticized by environmentalists
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vetoed this Friday (8) some sections of the law that makes the process of environmental licenses more flexible, after the strong rejection it received from environmentalist sectors.
Dubbed the “Devastation Bill” by its detractors, the text approved by Congress provided for exceptions in licenses for works considered “strategic” and facilitated certain authorizations under a mere declaration of commitment, among other measures.
With Lula's partial veto, the law maintains special protections for several indigenous territories and the Atlantic Forest, Environment Minister Marina Silva emphasized in a press conference. Lula seeks to ensure that "Brazil can usher in a new cycle of prosperity, where the economy doesn't clash with ecology, but rather is part of the same equation," she stated.
The organization SOS Mata Atlântica, which had delivered to Lula a document with more than 1 million signatures calling for a veto of the law, celebrated the president's decision in a statement, whose veto must now be approved by Congress.
Lula seeks to lead environmental discussions abroad, but faces criticism at home for supporting Petrobras' oil exploration in the Equatorial Margin, a marine zone located about 500 km from the mouth of the Amazon River, in the north of the country.
In the case of “strategic” projects, the president reinstated the requirement for environmental licenses, but stipulated a one-year deadline for them to be granted or denied, a provision that could expedite permitting in the Equatorial Margin.
According to Lula, the project is necessary to finance the energy transition in Latin America's largest economy. He also maintained the permits under a declaration of commitment, but only for initiatives considered to have low environmental impact.
The NGO Greenpeace highlighted that the presidential veto is an “essential measure to correct serious distortions in the text approved by Congress.”
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