Brazil’s Congress has pushed through legislation to weaken environmental safeguards for mining, infrastructure and agricultural projects, overriding a partial presidential veto just days after the end of COP30 and setting the stage for a possible showdown in the Supreme Court.
Earlier this year, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vetoed some of the most controversial sections of the environmental licensing legislation, dubbed the “devastation bill” by environmentalists, who say it would sweep away Indigenous land protections and could help fast-track the paving of an Amazon highway.
But in a November 27 plenary vote led by lawmakers aligned with Brazil’s powerful farm lobby, Congress reinstated 56 of the 63 articles vetoed by Lula in August – essentially returning the legislation to its original form.
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Warning that the legislation will effectively do away with environmental licensing requirements, several Brazilian NGOs and the left-wing PSOL party said they planned to mount a legal challenge over the constitutionality of the new rules at the country’s Supreme Court.
Juliano Bueno, president of the Arayara Institute NGO, one of the groups planning a legal fight, said the legislation meant “Brazil will be unable to meet its climate targets or the commitments it recently made at COP30”.
“Death blow” for Brazil’s climate push
Lula’s allies said the congressional decision was a sharp blow as Brazil strives to play a prominent role in global efforts to fight climate change and deforestation, including in the Amazon.
Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann said it “contradicts the government’s environmental and climate efforts just made at COP30″, calling the decision “very bad news”.
Government-allied Senator Eliziane Gama told the plenary session the new licensing rules were “shameful for Brazil” and “a death blow to the main agreements formed at COPs”. Others warned that scrapping the vetoes would open the doors to lawsuits from Indigenous and environmental rights groups.
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The bill’s backers, who include agribusiness and the mining association, have said Brazil needs to streamline environmental licensing to boost production of minerals vital to the clean energy transition, and foster economic development in remote parts of the country.
Davi Alcolumbre, an ally of the ruralist caucus and president of the Senate, told the plenary overturning the veto was “fundamental to clearing the issue of environmental licensing as a whole”.
“There are entire regions waiting for Congress to finish this discussion, so that great projects can move past the paperwork, generating work, generating income and economic growth, always with environmental responsibility,” he told the session.
After being approved by the Senate and Congress with a strong majority, the legislation is expected to be ratified by both chambers this Wednesday.
Oil exploration fast track?
Among other provisions, the new environmental licensing rules fully reinstate two controversial figures: a system that allows some projects to issue their own licences, called Environmental Licence by Adhesion and Commitment (LAC), and a Special Environmental Licence (LAE) to fast-track “strategic projects”.
Bueno of the Arayara Institute said the LAE in particular could weaken controls on oil exploration, mining projects and gas-powered plants, which could be labelled as strategic for national development.
Lula’s veto had lowered the scope of the self-licensing process in the LAC, by only allowing small-scale projects to qualify for it. Observers interpreted this as mostly roads and infrastructure upkeep. With the veto gone, it would allow for larger projects, too.
A controversial expansion of the BR-319 highway connecting the Amazon cities of Manaus and Porto Velho could benefit from the LAE, despite environmental groups saying it could cause deforestation in the area to skyrocket by allowing new routes into the forest. Under the new law, the road could be paved without new environmental studies.
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The new regulations also exempt states from having to consult Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities that lack formal land ownership titles on infrastructure projects. Land tenure was one of the main Indigenous demands at COP30.
Before the Congress vote, Brazil’s National Foundation for Indigenous People said 297 Indigenous lands – accounting for more than 40% of the total – would be left unprotected if the bill returned to its original form.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has ruled in the past that Indigenous lands can pre-exist current land demarcation titles, meaning the titles are not always necessary for land rights to be recognised.
“Congress has institutionalised environmental racism and amplified conflicts in traditional territories,” said Alice Dandara de Assis Correia, environmental lawyer at the Socioenvironmental Institute (ISA), a Brazilian NGO, one of the other groups planning a legal challenge.
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Prepared by a coalition of nine Western Australian union, industry, conservation, and community organisations—including UnionsWA, the Conservation Council WA, and the Smart Energy Council—the WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan provides a practical roadmap to transform Western Australia into a clean energy powerhouse while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
Western Australia stands at a pivotal crossroads: lead the global clean energy economy or watch investment, future industries, and secure jobs go elsewhere. The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan outlines a transformative blueprint to harness the state’s world-class solar and wind resources. Discover how legislated renewable targets, green iron manufacturing, and a dedicated regional training strategy can generate tens of thousands of local jobs, lower household bills, and build a resilient, net-zero future for all Western Australians.
WA needs a clear and forward-thinking plan if it is going to become a competitive renewable energy powerhouse and maintain its economic strength through the energy transition.
“Western Australians know a faster renewable energy transition will lower their household expenses and prevent harmful climate pollution. But the community also needs clear direction to ensure this transition will create jobs, lower costs and not cause undue environmental harm.
“Here, sectors representing a broad range of interests have laid the groundwork for those outcomes, clearly outlining what is needed to create a future for WA that is good for the environment, for the climate, for workers and for the economy.
Summary
The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan sets out a strategic roadmap to position Western Australia as a global clean energy superpower while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
The report establishes three overarching goals:
- Creating local employment.
- Maintaining industrial competitiveness.
- Lowering household energy costs
To realize this vision, the framework details actionable measures to follow on from the recent WA Government announcement of a 75% Renewable Energy Target by 2031 for the South West Interconnected System. This includes developing a statewide Renewable Energy Target, coordinating statewide workforce and training pipelines, strategically planning regional infrastructure to safeguard high-value biodiversity and cultural heritage, and ensuring equitable benefit-sharing through household electrification incentives and First Nations equity partnerships. Ultimately, the plan highlights that establishing clear policy and regulatory certainty will unlock lower energy bills, boost power reliability, and secure the state’s global competitiveness in emerging green commodity export markets.
Key Findings
- Statewide Renewable Energy Target and Emissions Reduction Targets: The report calls for a statewide RET and 1.5°C aligned emission reduction targets to remove policy risk, lower capital costs, and attract clean energy investment.
- Transformative Job Creation: Accelerating the transition offers massive employment prospects, including up to 8,800 solar and battery jobs by 2050, as well as 24,000 ongoing and 11,000 construction jobs in a commercial green iron industry.
- Industrial Electrification & Competitiveness: Requiring large gas users to adopt binding electrification timetables and providing concessional financing will protect existing energy-intensive manufacturers from rising energy costs and impending domestic gas shortfalls.
- Green Commodity Export Leadership: Western Australia can build new export markets in green iron, green ammonia, and offshore oil/gas decommissioning by constructing shared common-user infrastructure and setting dedicated Green Commodity Export Targets.
- Coordinated Workforce & Training Pipeline: To address critical skill shortages the plan recommends establishing a WA Clean Energy Jobs Plan 2050, three regional training hubs, and dedicated pathways for female and under-represented apprentices.
- Environmental Safeguards & Community Benefits: Fast-tracked development must be paired with State Planning Policies that avoid high-biodiversity and cultural heritage lands, mandate new data centres to run on additional renewable power, and deliver household electrification rebates and First Nations equity partnerships.
What you can do
WA has an opportunity to lead on sustainable, clean energy and associated industries. You can help by:
- Sending an email to Environment Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on them to reject Browse.
- Sharing this story to help more Australians understand what’s at stake.
- Encouraging your friends and family to take action.