Uncovering Brazil’s Devastation Law Project

A national rollback with global consequences

The Big Picture: Brazil is on the brink of enacting PL 2159/2021, a sweeping environmental rollback known by civil society as the Devastation Law Project — a move that risks accelerating deforestation, gutting oversight, and violating Indigenous rights.

“This isn’t just bad for Brazil — it’s a global threat.”

⚠️ Why it matters

The Amazon and other Brazilian biomes play a critical role in climate stability, biodiversity protection, and carbon absorption. Weakening Brazil’s environmental licensing system will:

• Accelerate legal and illegal deforestation
• Increase greenhouse gas emissions
• Violate Indigenous peoples’ rights and global climate treaties
• Undermine EU-Brazil trade negotiations, especially the EU-Mercosur deal

What’s in the bill (PL 2159/2021)

If passed, the law would:

• ✅ Allow self-licensing of polluting activities via online forms
• ❌ Remove requirements for environmental impact assessments
• ️ Shift licensing power to states and municipalities, creating regulatory chaos
• Exempt entire sectors like agribusiness from federal environmental review

“This bill legalizes deforestation and fragments national environmental protection.”
— Civil society organizations in Brazil

What this means for the world

For Brazil:
Undermines national climate targets, weakens biodiversity safeguards, and threatens Indigenous and Quilombola communities.

For the EU:
Contradicts core values of human rights and environmental protection — and could derail the EU-Mercosur agreement.

“This law is incompatible with EU environmental and human rights standards.”
— Members of European Parliament

️ How we got here

Brazil’s current government, under pressure from agribusiness and extractive sectors, has prioritized deregulation over protection — enabling this law to pass the Senate in May 2025. A vote in the Chamber of Deputies is expected soon.

“Environmental governance has been dismantled. What remains now is resistance — and international solidarity.”
— Brazilian civil society leaders

What the experts say

“The bill poses serious and irreversible risks to human rights, climate stability, biodiversity, and Indigenous sovereignty.”
— EU Special Rapporteurs

What must happen next

EU leaders are being urged to:

• ❌ Denounce the law publicly
• ✅ Condition trade agreements on environmental protections
• Delay ratification of EU-Mercosur until this law is defeated
• Stand in solidarity with Indigenous and environmental defenders

Bottom line:

PL 2159/2021 isn’t just a law — it’s a climate test for Brazil, the EU, and the planet.

• It will set the tone ahead of COP30 in Belém.
• It will reveal whether global leaders walk the talk on environmental justice.

Environmental protection is not a local issue. It’s a global pact.