Government aims to pass new environmental licensing rules in 6 months
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Government aims to pass new environmental licensing rules in 6 months
The government expects Congress to vote on its proposed bill and provisional presidential decree, or MP, within six months. The bill, which was submitted to amend parts of the legislation vetoed by Mr. Lula, has constitutional urgency status, meaning it must be approved by both the lower and upper houses of Congress within 45 days. The government intends to argue that environmental licensing is “not something that holds the country back,” countering claims from the business sector that licensing procedures hinder economic development. The Lula administration faced criticism for being politically isolated and failing to mobilize its congressional base, according to legislative sources. Now, the plan is to mount a stronger lobbying effort to stop the push to reverse the vetoes. The IBAMA chief called the law signed by Lula “reasonable” and said the vetoers were welcomed by the agency.
The bill, which was submitted to amend parts of the legislation vetoed by Mr. Lula, has constitutional urgency status, meaning it must be approved by both the lower and upper houses of Congress within 45 days. The MP, which accelerates the implementation of a Special Environmental License (LAE), takes immediate effect but must be voted on within 120 days or it will expire.
Mr. Agostinho also said he will personally engage lawmakers to prevent the vetoes from being overturned. “I’ll speak with all the congressional leaders I know. The idea is to start a dialogue and express our concerns,” he said.
During the vote on the licensing bill in July, the Lula administration faced criticism for being politically isolated and failing to mobilize its congressional base, according to legislative sources. Now, the plan is to mount a stronger lobbying effort to stop the push to reverse the vetoes.
Mr. Agostinho said the government intends to argue that environmental licensing is “not something that holds the country back,” countering claims from the business sector that licensing procedures hinder economic development. “Projects are not being stopped,” he noted. “Companies come to IBAMA every day to discuss the progress of their licensing processes.”
The IBAMA chief called the law signed by Mr. Lula “reasonable” and said the vetoes were welcomed by the agency. He emphasized the importance of key provisions in the bill and the MP that were sent to Congress in recent days and should be preserved.
One of those is the License by Adhesion and Commitment (LAC), a self-declared license that, under the version proposed by the government, would apply only to projects with low environmental impact. “Allowing LACs for medium-impact projects is a legal aberration and an unnecessary risk, 90% of projects in Brazil fall under this category,” Mr. Agostinho warned.
The version passed by Congress had extended the LAC to medium-impact projects as well, which the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has already ruled unconstitutional in similar state-level legislation.
Another key point the administration wants to uphold, Mr. Agostinho said, is the veto that preserved the federal government’s authority over environmental licensing and blocked states from expanding their role. “We can’t have each state handling licensing on its own. It would be very problematic to let every entity decide.”
Mr. Agostinho also defended the Special Environmental License (LAE), which the government retained and reformulated through the MP sent to Congress. He rejected claims that the instrument would benefit oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River. That area is the political stronghold of Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (Brazil Union Party – Amapá), who sponsored the LAE in Congress’s original bill.
Environment Minister Marina Silva echoed Mr. Agostinho’s stance on Thursday (14), saying she too would seek to persuade lawmakers not to overturn the vetoes.
“We’ll talk to lawmakers, the House and Senate leadership, and all congressional caucuses open to dialogue. The path the government chose is the best for everyone,” the minister said during the “Bom Dia, Ministra” program on public broadcaster EBC.
Ms. Silva explained that the vetoes aimed to speed up the licensing process “but not at the expense of environmental protection,” and without undermining the legal certainty of infrastructure projects. She said there were concerns that the bill passed by Congress could trigger a “wave” of lawsuits if left unchanged.