Passed on May 21, 2025, Bill No. 2159 seeks to reshape Brazil’s environmental licensing laws and has already triggered an outcry from climate activists. Originally approved in 2021, the so-called “Devastation Bill” has returned with several revisions, which many argue have only worsened. Now, it heads back to the Chamber of Deputies for another vote. But what exactly does it propose?
In clear terms, the “General Environmental Licensing Law” essentially dismantles the legal framework that governs environmental licensing in Brazil. It gives agribusiness corporations — including mining companies and water-intensive industries — even more freedom to exploit and degrade natural ecosystems. Ultimately, this means that large corporations, and even the state itself, stand to benefit, while the environment is left to foot the bill.
“But what about Indigenous peoples, riverine communities, and even the broader population that, albeit indirectly, relies on a balanced natural environment?” you might ask. In the face of a global climate crisis — and the very year of COP30, ironically set to take place in Belém do Pará, Brazil — the law fails to mention climate change altogether. Nor does it show any concern for the communities most affected by the invasive reach of agribusiness.
Why now?
The main justification for the change is the need to replace the current legislation, established by CONAMA Resolution No. 237/1997, often called a “patchwork” due to its lack of standardization and the adoption of divergent criteria across states.
This is not a new attempt. Proposals have been circulating since 2004 intending to introduce reform and greater standardization, but only now has one been approved. While there is indeed a need for a more modern and coherent law, the new text falls short.
While investors and agribusiness leaders support the decision, the new legislation raises serious concerns among climate advocates. In an official statement, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change of Brazil, Marina Silva, called the bill a “death blow” to the climate agenda. Other activists point out the irony — and even regressiveness — of approving a law that, in essence, promotes devastation in a year marked by COP30 and the United Nations’ declaration of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The environmental danger
Once approved, the new law will alter how environmental impact studies and oversight are conducted. This gives large corporations greater freedom to bypass environmental damage without being required to carry out proper assessments of their real impacts. According to MapBiomas, agribusiness activities are already responsible for over 90% of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, the “lungs of the planet.
Under the new legislation, state and municipal governments will have even more autonomy in approving projects — a shift that is likely to favor agribusiness monopolies and private interests. What’s more, by streamlining the approval process and removing the requirement for in-depth environmental studies, the potential for corruption increases significantly.
But the real impact is even more alarming. According to the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA), more than 3,000 protected areas and 18 million hectares of forest — an area equivalent to the entire state of Paraná in southern Brazil — are put at risk under the new legislation. This threatens not only global climate health but also traditional communities, including Indigenous and quilombola territories.
In 2022, a documentary by DW Documentaries shed light on the struggle of Brazil’s Indigenous peoples against the destruction of their ancestral lands. At the time, the illegal occupation of Indigenous territories by farmers and miners had already reached 600,000 square kilometers — an area roughly the size of France. Now, can you imagine what might happen under legislation that effectively legalizes this?
Legalizing deforestation
The approval of laws that benefit agribusiness is nothing new in Brazil. While the government publicly embraces a so-called “green responsibility,” behind the scenes, the picture remains far more troubling.
The law that loosened restrictions on pesticide use — widely known as the “Poison Bill” — has been in effect since November 2023, and its consequences have been significant: the use of chemicals such as mancozeb and atrazine has skyrocketed in the Amazon by 5,600% and 575%, respectively, posing serious threats to Indigenous peoples, riverine communities and environmental health.
In addition, the law allowing the clearance of non-forest native vegetation, approved in March last year, authorizes the conversion of all non-forest ecosystems for agricultural use, as long as they were previously exploited before July 2008. This could affect up to 48 million hectares across the country, an area twice the size of the United Kingdom.
The “Devastation Bill” is the next in line: it now heads to the Chamber of Deputies for final approval. Its passage, however, is largely expected, as the ruralist bloc continues to gain strength in Brazilian politics.
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Gatz.
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