In response to President Lula’s partial veto of the ‘Devastation Bill’, Mighty Earth Global Director João Gonçalves released the following statement:
“President Lula’s partial veto of the bill that his Minister of the Environment and Climate Change called ‘the burial of environmental licensing’ offers some welcome hope for nature and climate and goes a long way toward preventing an unforced error ahead of COP30.
“This bill sought to dramatically weaken protections for vital ecosystems like the Amazon, Pantanal, and Cerrado. It represented, potentially, the worst environmental setback in Brazil in decades. We appreciate President Lula’s vetoes of some of the most egregious parts of the legislation and hope that his changes are maintained by the Congress, because if this destructive bill becomes law – just weeks ahead of COP30 in Belém – it threatens to erode Brazil’s credibility on the global stage.”