Brazil's Senate advanced a piece of legislation ominously dubbed the "Destruction Bill," which policy experts warn would be the country's biggest climate policy setback in four decades.
What's happening?
On May 21, lawmakers in Brazil voted on the bill in the upper house of the Senate.
According to the Guardian, its purpose is to raze "Brazil's rigorous environmental licensing procedures to make the system simpler and more efficient" for businesses. If the legislation prevails, it would fast-track regulatory approval for high-risk "projects ranging from mining and infrastructure to energy and farming … with little to no environmental oversight."
Opponents of the proposal were dismayed when it passed in the upper chamber by a 54-13 vote.
Environmental activists and policymakers expressed deep concerns about what the Destruction Bill would mean for Indigenous land in Brazil and feared broader adverse outcomes. Climate policy and finance expert Natalie Unterstell was blunt when speaking to the Guardian about the legislation's risks.
"It's like getting rid of the brakes in a moving vehicle," Unterstell observed. Suely Araújo, an urbanist and public policy expert at the Climate Observatory, had similar fears about the bill's potential for unleashing destruction and risking lives.
"Most licensing procedures will become a push of a button without an environmental study or environmental impact assessment," Araújo warned, per the Guardian.
Why is the advancement of the "Destruction Bill" so concerning?
Brazil's Instituto Socioambiental (Socio-Environmental Institute, or ISA) voiced several specific concerns about what could happen if the legislation moved forward, per the Guardian.
If approved, the bill would undermine decades of progress, the organization said, "thus increasing the risk of destruction and conflict in rural areas." The ISA estimates its provisions would jeopardize over 44.5 million acres of forest and thousands of protected areas, much of it land occupied by Indigenous people.
ISA researcher Antonio Oviedo explained that watering down current licensing practices "means changing with the entire ecological support base of the country." In "weakening this instrument, Brazil will be paving the way for more socio-environmental disasters, loss of lives, and the worsening climate crisis," Oviedo added.
TCD Picks » Moms Clean Air Force
💡 Join a group of concerned mothers, fathers, and caregivers by signing petitions to fight for children's health
|
Should the government ban gas stoves? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Yes 💯 "The bill represents a collapse foretold," the ISA stated.
What's being done about Brazil's Destruction Bill?
On May 27, the ISA shared an update on Facebook about the bill's progress, indicating that Hugo Motta, speaker of the lower house of Brazil's Congress, expressed willingness to hear objections to the legislation.
"This bill took two years to vote in the House, it took two years in the Senate. I will not put to vote in two days," the ISA quoted Motta as saying.
On May 26, popular Brazilian singer Anitta (@anitta) urged her Instagram followers to contact lawmakers and object to the passage of Brazil's Destruction Bill before it's too late.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
