Lula government projects collide with environmental discourse – 05/29/2023 – Environment

The discussion around oil exploration in the Foz do Amazonas basin and the announcement of subsidies for popular cars have raised doubts among researchers and activists as to the environmental mark that the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) seeks to imprint within and out of Brazil.

These projects, in evidence in recent days, are added to other controversial undertakings, such as Ferrogrão, the railroad that would link Mato Grosso to Pará, and the paving of the BR-319 from Manaus to Porto Velho. Both are criticized for the risk of damage to indigenous peoples and the conservation of the Amazon.

Experts say that the PT government needs to deal both with the legacy of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) administration, marked by an anti-environmental policy, and with the legacy of previous mandates.

“The question is whether you’re going to choose to do the same thing you did 20 years ago, like a big PAC (Growth Acceleration Program), or something with low emissions modeling that connects with the rest of the world,” says Natalie Unterstell, president of the Talanoa Institute.

Understand below the stage of projects that should be discussed by the Lula government and their impacts.



Oil at Foz do Amazonas

What is it: oil exploration in the Foz do Amazonas basin, in the region of the Brazilian equatorial margin, between Rio Grande do Norte and Amapá.

Why is it controversial? Ibama denied the license to drill a block due to the lack of studies that prove the safety of the activity in the region, which increased pressure from Petrobras, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, parliamentarians and even vice-president Geraldo Alckmin ( PSB) on the environmental wing of the Lula administration.

The criticisms, in addition to security issues, focus on how the project is opposed to discourses of decarbonization, energy transition and reduction of emissions. There is also criticism of the pressure to demand that studies such as the AAAS (Environmental Assessment of Sedimentary Areas) fall only on Ibama.

“This is being debated and attacked not only in Brazil, but in the world. Of course, this issue is in the case of the mouth of the Amazon, but it goes further, because someone needs to answer about Petrobras’ carbon budget. And it’s not the Ibama, but the Ministry of Mines and Energy”, says Natalie Unterstell.

What stage are you in? The government requires a comprehensive strategic environmental assessment of the project, and should maintain the rule for others with similar potential impact. The analysis, however, could take years, which should keep the stalemate.

Potassium mining in the Amazon

What is it: the exploration of the potassium reserve in undemarcated indigenous territory in Autazes, in Amazonas, for the fertilizer industry.

Why is it controversial? “I have the impression that potassium is only sought near or inside indigenous lands”, says Suely Araújo, a senior specialist in public policies at the Climate Observatory. “Certainly there are other potash exploration sites in the country.”

In addition to the proximity to the territory of the Mura people, who live in tension while the demarcation does not take place, the delay in Justice to establish the licensing competence —whether federal or state— has generated criticism even from Alckmin, whose ministry defends a solution to the stalemate.

What stage are you in? Ipaam, the environmental agency of the government of Amazonas, states that it did not identify overlapping with indigenous lands in the prior licensing of the Potássio do Brasil project, and that the environmental licensing of the application for the installation license is under analysis. Funai said, in April, that there were teams in the Mura territory for studies linked to the demarcation.

Popular car

What is it: the government announced its intention to provide economic incentives to reduce prices and expand access to popular cars in Brazil.

Why is it controversial? The proposal goes against the grain of emissions reduction and energy transition, in addition to being considered inefficient for the demand for transport. “While the world is moving towards fleet electrification, or at least hybridization, which would likely be our case, you don’t hear about it. [no Brasil]”, says Unterstell.

“A package with incentives for moving the automotive industry as if we were in the year 2000 is a big mismatch between the 2023 government and what it has to deal with from its past and the most recent government”, he criticizes.

What stage are you in? On Thursday (25), the government announced a reduction in the IPI and PIS/Cofins taxes to reduce the final price of vehicles up to R$ 120,000 by up to 10.96%. There will still be a breakdown of the plan in the next 15 days.

ferrograin

What is it: a railway 933 km long and estimated investments of R$ 21.5 billion crossing the Amazon. The project would connect Sinop (MT) to the Paraense port of Mirituba, to transport grain production.

Why is it controversial? Ferrogrão is pointed out as a major vector of “outbound” deforestation, that is, for the installation of the route.

“Maybe it was ok to build 20 or 30 years ago, but now we need to change our perspective,” says Unterstell.

She claims that the region that will be crossed by the route is already one of the most sensitive to climate change. “The Midwest is where we see the highest projections of temperature rise in the country.”

Also, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, led by Sônia Guajajara (PSOL), opposes the reduction of the area of ​​the Jamanxim National Park for the passage of the railroad.

The report sought out the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change to find out the opinion of the current management, but there was no response. In the Bolsonaro government, in a demonstration in the process, the folder considered the reduction in the flow of cargo on the BR-163 that would occur with the railroad positive.

What stage are you in? The project awaits judgment in the Federal Supreme Court on the preliminary suspension of the concession of the work, in 2021, given by Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

Paving of the BR-319

What is it: paving of the so-called middle stretch of BR-319, 400 km long, a road built during the military dictatorship to connect Porto Velho to Manaus. Today this stretch, without asphalt, is impassable in periods of rain.

Why is it controversial? With just the expectation for the work, deforestation around the road grew 122% from 2020 to 2022, according to data from INPE (National Institute for Space Research) gathered by the Climate Observatory.

“It’s not a simple paving, it’s a reconstruction of the road. The main impact has always been deforestation. Also because the best trafficability conditions facilitate the creation of the fishbone effect”, says Araújo about areas deforested from the road.

The work is an old demand from local politicians to dispose of production and is on Lula’s priority list, but it is a challenge to the goal of zero deforestation by 2030.

What stage are you in? The Dnit (National Department of Transport Infrastructure) states that, after the prior license issued by Ibama in July 2022, it develops the basic environmental plan, necessary for the application for an installation license to Ibama. In addition, he says that he contracted projects for the recovery of degraded areas and mitigation of impacts on fauna.

Tucuruí Line

What is it: power transmission line that will connect Boa Vista to the National Interconnected System, made up of 250 high voltage towers. Today Roraima has no connection with this system, being the only state in this situation.

Why is it controversial? One of the points of greatest criticism of the project, tendered in 2011, was the layout of the line in the Waimiri Atroari territory, in addition to the lack of consultation with the indigenous people. In 2021, leaders said that Funai had endorsed the work without consulting them.

The foundation denies this and says that there were disagreements with Transnorte Energia SA about the basic environmental plan, which defines compensation.

“There was a delay for the entrepreneur to ask for the installation license, because of a negotiation about the value of the concession and consultation with the indigenous people”, recalls Araújo.

What stage are you in? According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the route runs parallel to the BR-174, passing through the region of villages. The process ended up in court and, according to Ibama, the agreement, approved by the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region, was signed in September 2022. The works should begin in July of this year.

_{The Planeta em Transe project is supported by the Open Society Foundations.}