Draft Bill to Amend Argentine Law
On December 15, 2025, the National Executive Branch submitted to the National Congress a bill (the “Bill”) proposing amendments to Law No. 26,639, “Minimum Environmental Protection Standards for the Preservation of Glaciers and the Periglacial Environment” (the “Glaciers Law”).
The Bill aims to introduce clarifications regarding the scope of federal environmental protection and to strengthen provincial powers in matters of environmental protection and the administration of natural resources.
To this end, the Bill provides, inter alia, for the following measures:
- The express incorporation of the principle enshrined in section 124 of the National Constitution, pursuant to which the provinces hold original ownership over the natural resources located within their respective territories.
- The allocation to local authorities of the competence to identify glaciers and geoforms that fulfill the hydrological functions provided for under the Glaciers Law, granting them the authority to notify the Argentine Institute of Nivology, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences (Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales – “IANIGLA”) of the exclusion from the National Inventory of those geoforms that do not constitute strategic reserves or act as water providers.
- The elimination of the mandatory nature of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), leaving its implementation subject to the exclusive discretion of the competent environmental authority in each jurisdiction.
The Bill has received a favorable opinion from the Committees on Mining, Energy and Fuels, and on Environment and Sustainable Development of the Honorable Senate of the Nation, and is expected to be considered by the National Congress during the extraordinary sessions scheduled for February 2026.
