“…protect fundamental rights and ensure that environmental licensing was not weakened.”
Mariana Cuzziol Longo is a partner at Daniel Law, specializing in civil litigation, public law, regulatory law, and life sciences. Cuzziol holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Mackenzie and an MBA from FGV.
The enactment of Law No. 15,190, of August 8th, 2025—originating from the former Bill No. 2,159/2021—marks a decisive step toward modernizing environmental licensing in Brazil. This new legal framework introduces clearer and more uniform rules, aiming to balance robust environmental protection with the need for regulatory efficiency and greater legal certainty for strategic sectors, particularly agribusiness. By consolidating fragmented provisions into national guidelines, the law seeks to streamline bureaucracy and enhance predictability for investors and farmers.
The agro-industrial sector, which constitutes a substantial share of Brazil’s GDP and plays a crucial role in the national trade balance, has long advocated for more agile licensing processes that do not compromise technical rigor or socio-environmental safeguards. In this context, the new legislation—together with Provisional Measure No. 1,308/2025, which creates the Special Environmental License (LAE)—represents not only regulatory progress, but also a strategic repositioning of Brazil within global value chains that are increasingly focused on traceability and sustainability.
“National standardization and the definition of clear deadlines bring predictability and legal certainty, reducing uncertainty…”
Despite regulatory progress, the presidential sanction was accompanied by significant vetoes. In total, 63 provisions were excluded by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on the grounds of protecting fundamental rights and ensuring that environmental licensing was not weakened. The main vetoes maintained restrictions and standards considered essential:
- Limitation of LAC (License by Adhesion and Commitment): the use of this simplified procedure will continue to be restricted to projects with low environmental impact, preventing its application to activities with medium pollution potential. This preserves the requirement for more detailed analyses for projects with greater ecological risk.
- Mandatory national standardization: the possibility for states and the Federal District to define their licensing criteria without observing uniform national guidelines was vetoed. This measure avoids regulatory disparities that could generate legal uncertainty and harmful regulatory competition.
- Protection of ecosystems and communities: requirements for prior consultation with indigenous peoples and quilombola communities, specific rules for the protection of the Atlantic Forest, and the preservation of the authority of conservation units were maintained. In addition, financial institutions remain responsible for assessing socio-environmental risks before granting credit.
These vetoes preserve a core set of environmental protections and social rights, preventing the relaxation of licensing requirements from resulting in the loss of essential safeguards.
One of the most significant elements of the legislative situation was the simultaneous publication of Provisional Measure No. 1,308/2025, which creates the Special Environmental License (LAE). Unlike Law No. 15,190/2025, which will come into force 180 days after its publication (February 2026), the LAE is already in force.
The new instrument was designed for projects considered strategic for the country, offering greater speed without sacrificing robust technical studies. Its main points include:
- Defined deadlines: licensing via LAE will have a maximum period of 12 months for completion, counted from the delivery of all required studies and documents. This predictability reduces bottlenecks that, in some cases, lasted for years.
- EIA/RIMA requirement: even with greater agility, the process maintains the requirement for an Environmental Impact Study and Environmental Impact Report, ensuring a solid technical basis for administrative decisions.
- Clear stages: the procedure provides for defined phases and intermediate deadlines, bringing transparency and organization to the process.
- Technical prioritization: a decree will regulate which projects will be prioritized, considering their strategic relevance and socioeconomic impact.
National standardization and the definition of clear deadlines bring predictability and legal certainty, reducing uncertainty, lowering the risk of litigation, and strengthening the confidence of investors and partners. The new law, combined with the Environmental License by Adherence and Commitment (LAE), streamlines the licensing of strategic projects in infrastructure, logistics, and processing, increasing the sector’s competitiveness. Faster and technically consistent licensing also reinforces Brazil’s image as a sustainable supplier, helping to overcome non-tariff barriers and meet standards such as the European Deforestation-Free Supply Chain Act. In addition, by maintaining technical assessment and social consultation instruments, the new framework facilitates adherence to ESG standards, integrating due diligence and reporting with the requirements of global financiers and buyers.
Despite the benefits, some challenges remain. The practical application of the LAE will require an adequate administrative structure, with sufficient technical capacity and human resources to meet deadlines. There is also a need to avoid prioritizing strategic projects in a way that creates distortions or undermines the treatment of other relevant demands.
In addition, coordination between federal, state, and municipal environmental agencies will be crucial for national standardization to translate into concrete results, avoiding conflicts of jurisdiction and divergent interpretations.
The enactment of Law No. 15,190/2025, combined with the immediate entry into force of MP No. 1,308/2025, represents a regulatory milestone that seeks to balance economic development, environmental protection, and legal certainty. For agribusiness, this is an opportunity to transform environmental licensing into an ally for sustainable expansion, rather than an obstacle.
The success of this transformation will depend on the effective implementation of the new rules, the training of licensing agencies, and the commitment of the productive sector to adopt best social and environmental practices. If well conducted, this new regulatory arrangement could consolidate Brazil as an international benchmark in sustainable and competitive agro-industrial production.
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