Brasilia [Brazil], August 9 : Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday signed into law a bill easing environmental licensing rules but vetoed key provisions that would have made it easier for companies to secure environmental permits, Al Jazeera reported.
Lula approved what critics have called the "devastation bill," but struck down or altered 63 of its nearly 400 articles, his office's executive secretary, Miriam Belchior, told reporters, according to Al Jazeera.
The president faced increasing pressure from environmental groups to intervene in the bill, which was supported by Brazil's powerful agribusiness sector and aimed at rolling back strict licensing rules that had helped curb destruction of the Amazon rainforest, Al Jazeera reported.
A previous version of the bill adopted by lawmakers last month would have allowed some permits to be granted based solely on a simple declaration of a company's environmental commitment. Lula's revisions, however, reinstated the current strict licensing rules for strategic projects.
Belchior said the new proposal sought to "preserve the integrity of the licensing process, ensure legal certainty, and protect the rights of Indigenous and Quilombola communities."
She added that Lula will introduce a "Special Environmental Licence" designed to fast-track strategic projects while filling legal gaps created by the vetoes.
"We maintained what we consider to be significant advances in streamlining the environmental licensing process," she said.
The nongovernmental organisation SOS Atlantic Forest, which gathered more than a million signatures calling for a veto of the law, hailed Lula's move as "a victory" for environmental protection, Al Jazeera reported.
Of the provisions struck down by Lula, 26 were vetoed outright, while another 37 will be replaced with alternative text or modified in a new bill to be sent to Congress for ratification under a constitutional urgency procedure.
However, securing support for the amendments remains uncertain for the leftist leader. Brazil's conservative-dominated Congress has repeatedly defeated key government proposals, including overturning previous presidential vetoes. Lawmakers aligned with former president Jair Bolsonaro are also blocking legislative activity amid escalating political tensions, demanding charges related to an alleged failed coup attempt in 2022 be dropped.
Speaking at a Friday news conference in Brasilia, Environment Minister Marina Silva said Lula's vetoes would ensure that "the economy does not compete with ecology, but rather they are part of the same equation."
"We hope to be able to streamline licensing processes without compromising their quality, which is essential for environmental protection at a time of climate crisis, biodiversity loss and desertification," Silva added.
She further noted that a previous version of the bill, approved by Congress last month, threatened Brazil's pledge to eliminate deforestation by 2030 and described it as a "death blow" to the country's licensing framework.
But Lula's revised version means Brazil's "targets to reach zero deforestation" and its goal to "cut CO2 emissions by between 59 percent and 67 percent remain fully on track," Silva said.
Lula's environmental credentials are under close scrutiny ahead of the annual UN climate summit in November, which will be held in the Amazon city of Belem.