Brazil Clears 8 Miles of Amazon Rainforest for UN Climate Conference's Infrastructure Development
Title: Clearing the Way for Climate Talks: A Ironical Road through the Amazon
In November 2025, the United Nations will gather in Belém, Brazil for COP30 - a global effort to tackle climate change. With an expected attendance of 50,000 individuals, the city is preparing for a massive influx of climate enthusiasts, academics, and world leaders. To facilitate this traffic, Brazil decided to clear out eight miles of the Amazon rainforest, paving the way for a four-lane highway.
Images captured by the BBC expose the stark reality of deforestation - the barren forest floor, logs piled high along lengths of the road that will soon be replaced by concrete and vehicles. The Amazon rainforest, often referred to as the "lungs of the Earth," plays a significant role in combating rising global temperatures.
André Aranha Corrêa Do Lago, a distinguished career Brazilian diplomat heading COP30, emphasized the importance of forests in a recent open letter, envisioning a conference centered around science and sustainable practices. "As we gather in the Brazilian Amazon in November, we must listen to the latest research and reassess the crucial role that forests and the people who protect and depend on them have already played," Do Lago wrote.
Local resident Claudio Verequete, whose village now borders the newly-constructed highway, once made a living harvesting açaí berries from the trees that have since been felled. Fearing future eviction for development projects, he expressed his concerns to the BBC, "One day someone might come here and say: 'Here's some money. We need this area to build a gas station, or a warehouse.' And then we'll have to leave."
The highway interrupts the forest ecosystem, dividing it into two halves and cutting off access for both animals and indigenous populations who have lived there for generations. Scientists and environmentalists, those with a deep understanding of the Amazon's vital role, fear the new infrastructure will have a devastating impact on the local ecology.
Pará has longed for a highway to Belém, more populated than two million residents, since 2012. But environmental protections around the Amazon rainforest have historically obstructed such projects. In an unexpected turn of events, the upcoming climate conference offers Pará an opportunity to push through infrastructure development. The highway befittingly named Avenida Liberdade or "Liberty Avenue."
Avenida Liberdade is part of a larger infrastructure project aimed at revitalizing Belém, with over $81 million earmarked for airport expansion and the construction of a massive five-million-square-foot park. Multiple hotels are being built, and high-capacity cruise ships may be stationed in the city's port to accommodate visitors who cannot find lodging in the hotels.
Belém was strategically chosen for the conference, as it lies within the Amazon region that plays a critical role in regulating the planet's temperature. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva campaigned on preserving the forest, and early in his term, managed to slow deforestation rates. However, the issue remains unresolved, with Lula even endorsing projects like oil exploration at the Amazon river's mouth.
Do Lago asserted in his letter, "Forests can provide us with invaluable time in our fast-disappearing window of opportunity for climate action." Tragically, his country has just removed eight miles of Amazon Rainforest to make way for the conference he is preparing for in this very letter.
- By 2025, the United Nations' COP30 conference, aimed at addressing climate change, will take place in Belém, Brazil, after clearing a four-lane highway through eight miles of the Amazon rainforest, raising concerns about the forest's crucial role in combating rising global temperatures.
- Local resident Claudio Verequete, whose village borders the newly-constructed Avenida Liberdade, fears that future development projects may force him and his community to leave their homes, impacting the livelihoods of those who harvest açaí berries from the rainforest.
- In an ironic turn of events, the upcoming climate conference in Belém provides an opportunity for the city to push through infrastructure development such as the construction of a highway, which interrupts the forest ecosystem and has the potential to have a devastating impact on the local ecology.
- In his open letter, André Aranha Corrêa Do Lago, the head of COP30, emphasized the importance of forests and their role in fostering climate action, as the conference approaches in a section of the Amazon region crucial for regulating the planet's temperature, ironically taking place in the shadow of deforestation.
