The federal government released a press release to defend the maintenance of presidential vetoes to the General Environmental Licensing Law (Law No. 15,190/2025). The National Congress is expected to analyze the vetoes in a joint session this Thursday (27).
According to the Executive’s statement, the vetoes aim to guarantee the integrity of the licensing process, protect the environment and preserve the health of the Brazilian population.
The measures, states Planalto, also seek to ensure legal security for enterprises and investors; incorporate innovations that make licensing more agile, without compromising quality; and guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples and quilombola communities.
The note guarantees that the vetoes were defined after rigorous technical and legal assessments, with the participation of the scientific community and various sectors of society. And they took into account the recent scenario of environmental and climate disasters in the country.
The government cites the still present impacts of the ruptures in Mariana and Brumadinho, in addition to the tragedies caused by extreme events in Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, to argue that flexibility in licensing can generate “immediate and difficult to reverse” effects.
The statement also mentions Brazil’s role in the international climate agenda. After hosting the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), reducing deforestation in the Amazon by half and excelling in the use of renewable energy, the country “deserves robust and advanced legislation”.
Civil society
Socio-environmental organizations also assess that overturning the vetoes opens up opportunities for an increase in deforestation, fires, territorial conflicts and legal uncertainty.. Rights of indigenous peoples, quilombolas and traditional communities would be put at risk. They may be ignored in licensing processes if their territories are not yet demarcated or titled.
The entities that spoke out in this way were the Climate Observatory, Avaaz, Nossas, WWF-Brazil, Instituto Socioambiental, Institute of Collective Law, Institute of Democracy and Sustainability, Institute of Socioeconomic Studies, SOS Mata Atlântica, Greenpeace, Global Animal Protection and Panel Mar.
Experts say that the restoration of the original text allows states and municipalities to define on their own which projects can be automatically licensed, without prior analysis of impacts.
Works in sensitive areas of the Amazon, such as roads and waterways, can proceed without safeguards, increase greenhouse gas emissions and contradict the commitments defended by Brazil at COP30.
