Conectas alerts the UN about a bill threatening Environmental Licensing
The bill, under debate in Congress, threatens traditional communities and overlooks the climate crisis, warns the organization on the eve of COP30
Sala do Conselho de Direitos Humanos da ONU
During the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, currently taking place in the city of Geneva, Conectas made an appeal to the international community against the possible approval of a bill of law under deliberation in the Brazilian National Congress aimed at dismantling the environmental safeguarding system, which could have irreversible impacts on traditional communities, ecosystems, and the global climate.
The organization warned that the bill poses a direct threat to fundamental rights, promotes the dismantling of environmental safeguards and could lead to irreversible impacts on traditional communities, ecosystems and the global climate.
In an official statement, João Godoy, coordinator of the Conectas Defending Socioenvironmental Rights program, stressed that the bill “overlooks the rights of the Indigenous peoples, quilombolas and traditional communities; deepens inequalities; encourages deforestation, pollution, and forced displacements; as well as jeopardizing ways of life and cultural practices.” He also warned that the bill undermines the country’s legal framework and environmental governance, affecting legal certainty and the work of regulatory bodies.
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No mention of the climate crisis
The absence of any reference to the climate crisis in the text of the bill was also harshly criticized. According to Conectas, silence on this matter is alarming, especially given that Brazil is to host COP30 in 2025. The organization stated that approval of the bill could push the Amazon region beyond the point of no return, placing one of the planet’s largest carbon sinks at risk.
Among the most problematic points of bill, according to Conectas, are self-declared licensing, the undermining of social participation, reduced monitoring in protected areas and the exclusion of scientific evidence from the decision-making process.
The organization is calling for the immediate suspension of deliberation on the bill and urges the Brazilian state to reject any legal reform that weakens environmental safeguarding or excludes affected communities and civil society from decision-making.
Watch the statement made by João Godoy, from Conectas:
