2024-03-06 13:51:20
Brasília, 6/3/2024 – Civil society networks and organizations, including the Climate Observatory (OC), Nossas and ISAlaunch, this Wednesday (6/3), a platform on the internet to pressure Congress to reject Bill (PL) 2,159/2021, which provides for a General Environmental Licensing Law in the country, and approve a balanced proposal from a socio-environmental point of view.
O site www.pldadevastacao.org offers a device for sending emails against the project to parliamentarians. To participate in the mobilization, simply register your email, name and surname. The website also lists the negative impacts of the approval of the PL and its main setbacks.
The proposal approved by the Chamber, in 2021, was nicknamed the “PL of Devastation” because it could cause the increase in deforestation, the occurrence of climate extremes, pollution and water contamination, in addition to increasing the risk of new socio-environmental disasters, such as the one at Braskem, in Maceió, and those in Mariana and Brumadinho (MG).
PL 2,159 can be voted on at any time in the Senate’s Environment (CMA) and Agriculture (CRA) committees. If it is approved, it goes to the plenary and, if it is changed, it goes back to the Chamber. The PL is supported by the ruralist caucus and the lobby of large companies, represented by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI).
“PL 2,159 will cause a general lack of control over projects that generate environmental impacts, such as deforestation and pollution. It is the biggest current threat to the environment, health and safety of the population in the country. We need to come together to avoid this historic setback”, says Mauricio Guetta, legal consultant at ISA.
“The General Environmental Licensing Law project is one of the main ones being debated in the Senate. The vote could confirm, to a large extent, the Chamber’s text. We run the risk of approving the mother of all flocks, an absurd flexibilization and implosion of environmental licensing in the country”, warns Suely Araújo, coordinator of Public Policies at OC.
“PL 2159 is a true attack on the environment and public health. By making the law more flexible so that enterprises operate without adequate control or supervision, it puts not only ecosystems at risk, but also the lives and well-being of millions of Brazilians. It is unacceptable for economic interests to prevail over the safety and health of the population”, says Lucas Louback, advocacy manager at NOSSAS.
For civil society, researchers and public prosecutors, the PL is the worst and most radical ever discussed in Congress on the subject and, in practice, ends current licensing standards, making it an exception. If approved, works with major impacts and risks would obtain an automatic license by simply filling out a form on the internet, without any prior analysis. Enterprises could be exempt from liability for their socio-environmental impacts and preventive measures for their damage, among other setbacks.
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