Event Summary
On 17 July 2025, Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies approved Bill PL 2159/2021, which drastically weakens environmental licensing. The bill allows high-impact activities (e.g., military operations, infrastructure, agriculture) to bypass Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and public consultations if deemed “low risk.” According to Observatório do Clima (OC, 2025), this shifts the legal burden from mandatory licensing for all impactful activities to a fragmented system where only state-listed projects require oversight. The Guardian labeled it a “Devastation Bill”, citing risks of deforestation, land conflicts, and reduced judicial power to halt violations. The bill now awaits presidential sanction, creating urgency for advocacy to demand a veto.
On 8 August 2025, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sanctioned the bill with partial vetoes, striking 63 provisions including those allowing medium-impact projects to obtain permits via self-declared online forms and those restricting consultations with Indigenous and Quilombola institutions. However, the main structure of the reform remains, preserving accelerated licensing mechanisms that civil society argues could weaken environmental safeguards.
Environmental licensing is not merely a technical procedure, it is a fundamental tool of participatory governance that allows affected communities, civil society, and oversight institutions to engage in decision-making processes that impact collective well-being and ecological integrity. The bill’s immediate effect is the chilling of participatory governance, as the removal of mandatory public consultations signals to Indigenous groups, quilombola communities, and environmental NGOs that their voices will be systematically excluded from decision-making, setting a dangerous precedent for future legislation. For example, Amazonian communities that previously relied on environmental impact assessments (EIAs) to challenge destructive projects now face a legal void.
Civil society organizations remain mobilized to defend participatory safeguards and prevent the rollback of consultations and environmental oversight. Civil society is currently mobilizing to prevent this outcome, making the situation time-sensitive.