Brazilian Parliament approves bill that destroys environmental licensing regulations in the country

The Chamber of Deputies concluded its vote on Bill 3729/04, which abolishes environmental licensing rules and establishes a new legal framework. They approved the basic text of the proposal in the early hours of the morning, by 300 votes to 122. The Bill will now go to a vote in the Senate and should be the subject of a public hearing by the Environment Commission, according to the vice-president of the house, Veneziano Vital do Rêgo.

Several organizations have protested against the proposal, dubbed “the worst proposition”. Among the many critical points it carries is the waiver of the need for obtaining a license for at least 13 economic activities that impact the environment, such as mining and hydroelectric plants; the validation of self-declaratory licensing, without prior analysis by the environmental agency, and the exemption of social and environmental responsibility of banks and other institutions that finance the projects, already provided for by law. The critics say that the bill opens the possibilities for new environmental crimes in the likes of the tragedies in Brumadinho and Mariana.

In an interview with CBN, Suely Araújo, senior public policy specialist at the Climate Observatory, classified the proposal as “a setback of four decades, which will also cause serious economic losses to Brazil.”