Ahead of UN climate talks, Brazil fast-tracks oil and highway projects that threaten the Amazon

MANAUS, Brazil (AP) - Months before hosting the U.N.’s first climate talks held in the Amazon, Brazil is fast-tracking a series of controversial decisions that undercut President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's lofty environmental rhetoric and show widening divisions within his cabinet.

The country’s federal environmental agency approved plans for offshore drilling near the mouth of the Amazon and rock blasting along another river in the rainforest, while Congress is moving to make it harder to recognize Indigenous land and easier to build infrastructure in the rainforest.

These efforts would be controversial in normal times. But on the eve of the COP30 climate summit, environmental advocates say they’re undermining Lula’s claims to be an environmental defender whose administration has made headway in slowing deforestation in the Amazon.

"What will Brazil show up with at COP30 in November?” asked Cleberson Zavaski, president of the National Association of Environmental Public Servants. “Will it be, once again, a list of commitments that contradict what the country itself is putting on the table today - such as expanding the highway network and oil exploitation?"

Protecting the environment was a central part of Lula's presidential campaign in 2022, when he ran against President Jair Bolsonaro, who presided over increasing deforestation and illegal activities in the Amazon, such as gold mining and land-grabbing.

But when Brazil’s environmental protection agency rejected the state-run oil company’s bid to conduct exploratory drilling in an about 160 kilometers (99 miles) off Brazil's Amazonian coast, Lula supported the company’s appeal and in February criticized the agency for taking too long, saying it "seems like it's working against the government."

On May 19, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources or IBAMA, approved an emergency plan to allow the drilling.

A week later, IBAMA approved a rock-blasting operation along 40 km (25 miles) of the Tocantins River to enable year-round navigation, despite criticism from local grassroots organizations. The river, which cuts through the Amazon rainforest, is set to become a critical waterway to ship soybeans, mainly to China.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office said the authorization was illegal because it failed to address issues highlighted during the environmental study, and filed a lawsuit seeking to have it overturned.

Since taking office in 2023, Lula has argued that Brazil can both further its development while protecting the environment.

"France, the U.K., Norway and the U.S. also produce oil. And Brazil has the cleanest energy mix in the world: 90% of our electricity comes from renewables," Lula said in an interview to French newspaper Le Monde published last week.

Brazil gets most of its own electricity from hydropower and other green energies, while its oil exports, a major source of income for the country, are on the rise.

Emails to the president's chief of staff seeking comment were not answered.

On May 21, the Senate approved sweeping legislation that weakens federal agencies' environmental licensing powers. Among other measures, the bill streamlines review for projects deemed priorities by the federal government, reducing the approval process from three bureaucratic steps to one and imposing a one-year deadline for review.

It also elimates reviews for upgrades to existing highways, which could clear the way for to pave the whole of BR-319, a highway that runs about 900 kilometers (560 miles) through the western part of the Amazon. Environmentalists argue that the paving will lead to mass clearing of a pristine area of rainforest.

The bill is opposed by Lula's Workers' Party, but it’s expected to pass the lower chamber of Congress.

Lula could veto all or parts of the bill, but according to press reports he is expected to support of the bulk of the changes with only minor adjustments. Lula has said he has no position on the environmental bill.

Meanwhile, Congress has also approved rules that make it harder demarcate Indigenous lands and is moving forward with legislation to weaken licensing rules that, among other impacts. The bill is opposed by Lula’s Workers’ Party, but according to several press reports Lula will support of the bulk of the changes and will only negotiate minor adjustments.

"It's the perfect combo to wipe out environmental protections and Indigenous land demarcations in the country, accelerate the tipping point of the world's largest tropical forest and set off a carbon bomb against the global climate," Climate Observatory, a network of 133 environmental, civil society and academic groups, said in a statement.

Former U.S. Interior Interior Bruce Babbitt, who sits on the board of the nonprofit Amazon Conservation, said in a statement that the bill "will lead to massive destruction of the Amazon rainforest. It should be opposed by all Brazilians and friends of Brazil in the international community."

The licensing bill has also deepened internal divisions within Brazil’s government.

Environment Minister Marina Silva said the law will end one of Brazil’s crucial mechanisms of environmental protection, but she appears increasingly sidelined in the administration.

Local media have reported that Lula’s Chief of Staff Rui Costa promised the bill’s sponsor that Lula would not oppose changes to licensing rules, and Minister of Transportation Renan Filho said in a social media post that the bill is "excellent" news that will get the highway project moving.

At a press conference last week, Lula praised Silva, calling her "loyal" and adding that it’s normal to have friction between the environmental and other ministries of government.

But many see echoes of Lula’s previous administration, during which Silva resigned from the same post after being marginalized by the rising influence of agribusiness.

João Paulo Capobianco, executive secretary of the environment ministry, reiterated her criticism of the bill in a speech last week, calling it a "real risk of setback." He added that Silva is working with Lula's cabinet toward "a point of convergence between those who seek efficiency - and deserve a response - and the need to preserve the system without dismantling environmental licensing."