Congress overturns vetoes on the environmental flexibility law in defeat for the government

The National Congress decided to deal a harsh defeat to the government and this Thursday overturned 24 vetoes by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to a controversial proposal approved by deputies and senators allowing greater flexibility in the environmental licensing system in Brazil less than a week before the country hosts the most important climate event in the world, COP30.

The overturn of Lula’s vetoes had the direct support of the president of Congress and the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), who shortly before the vote, defended the initiative.

“Voting on this veto is essential to unlock the issue of environmental licensing as a whole, stabilizing the legal framework, providing legal predictability and allowing Congress to move forward on other matters,” he said.

Parliamentarians will now vote on 26 vetoes separately presented by the PT and PSOL benches, which could give a dimension of the scope of the change.