Brazil is close to becoming the stage for a global fight in favor of the environment, as a host for COP 30. But, is the country aware of its leading role and investing in meaningful changes to demonstrate its climate responsibility to the world?
It doesn’t seem so…
With less than six months to go until COP 30 in Belém, recent events in the host country do not align with the conference’s goal: to be a catalyst for social mobilization around climate emergencies.
MARINA SILVA AND THE SENATE ATTACKS
The minister of Environment and Climate Change of Brazil, Marina Silva, was invited to a Senate session to discuss the creation of marine conservation units in the North. The political debate went beyond the agenda and ended with the Minister walking out of the hearing.
After being repeatedly attacked, the climax of the confrontation occurred with Senator Marcos Rogério (PL-RO), who told the Minister “to know her place”, to which Marina responded that she was not a “submissive woman”.
The Environment Ministry (MMA) proposes the creation of preservation areas near the Amazon River Mouth, a location that draws the attention of major companies in the industrial and agricultural sectors for being considered the new “pre-salt” – a site with the potential to yield billions of barrels of oil, and, of course, billions of reais.
Petrobras, senators from the Northern Region, members of the government, and even the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, are pushing for the advancement of exploration. On the other hand, IBAMA – an agency under Marina’s ministry – has not yielded to pressure and has opted for a more cautious approach in approving environmental licenses.
With over 25 years of experience in Brazilian politics, Marina Silva finds herself in a government marked by contradictory decisions. Accused of hindering Brazil’s development, she is, in fact, fighting for a space where both progress and preservation can coexist – provided there is a strategic environmental assessment.
THE DEVASTATION BILL
At a time when it could be the environment’s greatest ally, Brazil is saying “yes” to what may be seen as a setp backward in environmental legislation. PL 2159/2021, better known as the Devastation Bill, streamlines the environmental licensing process and has already been approved by the Senate. It now awaits a final decision from the Speaker of the House.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
One of the most critical points of the bill is the expanded use of the LAC (License by Adherence and Commitment), which allows medium-sized entrepreneurs to submit an automatic environmental self-declaration. In other words, they can use the desired areas without requiring environmental agencies to conduct studies on the impact of natural resource use – ultimately undermining preservation efforts and the right to a healthy environment.
Supporters argue that the bill aims to assist in economic development and promote Brazil’s growth. Still, it is, at the very least, peculiar that the proposal doesn’t even mention the “climate crisis” especially when advocates claim that reducing bureaucracy encourages companies to become more sustainable and responsible.
ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM
Another essential point to highlight is the neglect of Indigenous peoples’ perspectives. By weakening agencies such as IBAMA, FUNAI, and ICMBio, communication with the groups most affected by ecological damage becomes severely compromised.
Endless demands for the demarcation of Indigenous lands were answered with an initiative that violates their existence and undermines the rights of traditional, quilombola, and Black communities.
Furthermore, by facilitating large corporations’ access to already fragile territories, the government ignores rising violence and the potential for climate-driven displacement, putting at risk the lives and livelihoods of those who directly depend on nature to ensure their survival and way of life.
INCREASE IN FIRES
Severe droughts, combined with pressure from the agribusiness sector, were the main contributors to the worst wildfire season in seven decades in Brazil. Global Forest Watch (GFW) reported that over two-thirds (66%) of the tropical forest loss in the country was caused by fires.
This scenario is alarming, as it could permanently alter critical ecosystems and accelerate extreme consequences such as massive carbon emissions, deteriorating air quality, compromised water supply, and – not least – the loss of thousands of lives.
COP 30: BRAZIL’S CLIMATE DILEMMA
Given the situations described above, is Brazil truly prepared to be a global reference in tackling climate change? It is essential to reaffirm our environmental commitment – pushing away those who stand at the front lines of the social and environmental struggle is not the way forward.
Therefore, it’s imperative to support genuinely sustainable actions that positively impact a society in urgent need of reconnecting with nature. After all, the damage to our ecosystem can no longer be fully reversed, and the normalization of environmental destruction only contributes to collapse. Awareness cannot arise only when our own square meter is affected – the world is calling for urgency, and we can’t allow ourselves to be silenced.
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The article above was edited by Maryanna Arison .
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