The General Law on Environmental Licensing, now Federal Law No. 15,190 of August 8, 2025 (formerly Bill No. 2,159/2021), was enacted by the President of the Republic, with 63 presidential vetoes, alongside the issuance of Provisional Measure No. 1,308/2025, regulating the Special Environmental License (LAE).
Despite the intense debate between sectors in favor of and against the measure, it is undeniable that the subject had been pending in the National Congress for more than two decades, highlighting the need for updated and modern legislation capable of restructuring and enhancing the effectiveness of this instrument of environmental control, which is also considered a regulatory mechanism to mitigate or reduce the negative externalities of potentially polluting activities.
It is worth noting that, despite the centrality of climate issues globally, the new law does not explicitly address the climate agenda nor establish specific mechanisms aimed at tackling climate change.
Environmental licensing is a fundamental instrument for the economic development of any country, particularly in the current context, in which the climate agenda and issues related to environmental pollution assume a prominent and urgent role. The topic of environment and sustainability is present at the highest levels of corporate governance, being considered one of the most relevant issues both for business dynamics and for the collective interest. Therefore, closely monitoring the matter and its developments with stakeholders is essential for investors in Brazil.
Regardless of the divergent positions regarding the content of the General Law on Environmental Licensing, the issuance of unified rules capable of providing legal certainty to investors and society is already a reality. The constant judicialization and instrumentalization of the environmental matters as political arguments have diverted the central focus from environmental protection and, ultimately, have not brought effective benefits to the community.
The new framework for environmental licensing, now in force, will consolidate and standardize types of licenses previously regulated mainly by state legislation.
Noteworthy are: the Special Environmental License (LAE), aimed at strategic activities or enterprises (art. 5, VII; art. 24, Provisional Measure No. 1,308/2025); the Single Environmental License (LAU), which allows, in justified situations, the installation, operation, and regularization of the enterprise in a single stage (art. 5, IV; art. 21); the Corrective Operating License (LOC), intended for the regularization of operations started without prior licensing, subject to specific requirements and conditions (art. 5, VI; art. 26), among others. Another innovation is the authorization for operational tests or preliminary evaluations of environmental control systems during the Installation License phase, allowing verification of the proper functioning of structures before obtaining the definitive operating license (art. 5, paragraph 3).
The law also specifies exhaustive cases of exemption from environmental licensing. Articles 8 and 9 list situations such as emergency works or interventions to mitigate immediate risks to life or respond to public disasters (art. 8, IV and V) and certain agricultural activities, provided that land regularity criteria and compliance with the Forest Code are observed (art. 9). Paragraphs 3 and 4 of art. 9 provide for the possibility of issuing a declaratory certificate of non-subjection to licensing for certain activities, granting formal security to the entrepreneur. In addition, prior registration in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) will not be required for the licensing of infrastructure initiatives, pursuant to art. 9, paragraph 6, and art. 13.
With the enactment of Federal Law No. 15,190/2025, the President of the Republic vetoed the provision contained in art. 14, paragraphs 1, 2, and 5, which required that the environmental conditions established in the licensing process should mandatorily observe proportionality in relation to the magnitude of the assessed environmental impacts, and present a clear technical justification, evidencing the causal link between the imposed condition and the specific effects generated by the activity or enterprise. The proposal aimed to reinforce legal certainty for investors and entrepreneurs, mitigating recurring practices of imposing conditions without technical relevance or disconnected from the scope of the licensed activity. The legal text, however, maintained the provision that the entrepreneur may challenge imposed environmental conditions through an administrative appeal, with the possibility of suspensive effect and broad publicity (art. 14, paragraphs 6 to 8).
Although Federal Law No. 15,190/2025 introduces proposals for the simplification and rationalization of the licensing procedure, it remains surrounded by controversies. Provisions such as the expansion of self-declaratory mechanisms and the cases of exemption from licensing continue to raise relevant legal and constitutional issues, indicating a high potential for judicialization. Thus, the concrete effects of the new framework on environmental governance and investment predictability will depend not only on its final text but also on how it will be interpreted and applied by administrative bodies and the Judiciary.
It is equally relevant to monitor the position of the National Congress regarding the possible rejection or maintenance of the presidential vetoes, given their potential normative and practical effects on the application and effectiveness of Law No. 15,190/2025.