Eight miles of Amazon axed for four-lane highway to climate summit

And the award for the biggest PR own goal of the year goes to the Brazilian government who are building a new four-lane, eight-mile highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest – so delegates can get to the UN COP30 climate summit in the city of Belém later this year.

“It beggars belief,” said Midlands green energy expert Ron Fox, “how any officials can seriously come up with this idea, especially with the whole planet watching.”

The Avenida Liberdade, which was first proposed in 2012, was held up for years by environmental concerns. But work began on the road last June to help ease traffic to the city, described as the gateway to the Amazon river and rainforest. The conference in November this year will host more than 50,000 people, including world leaders.

The Brazilian president says it will be a historic summit because it is “a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon”. It will provide an opportunity to focus on the needs of the Amazon, show the forest to the world, and present what the federal government has done to protect it.

Adler Silveira, the state government’s infrastructure secretary, said the highway is one of 30 projects happening in the city so “we can have a legacy for the population and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way”.

He said it would be a sustainable highway with wildlife crossings for animals, bike lanes and solar lighting. New hotels are also being built in Belém and the port is being redeveloped so cruise ships can dock there.

Brazil’s federal government is investing more than £62m to expand the Belém airport capacity from seven to 14 million passengers. A disused runway is being turned into a park and buildings to host the summit. Parque da Cidade will include green spaces, restaurants, a sports complex and other facilities for the public to use afterwards and leave a legacy for the people of Pará state.

But many scientists, conservationists and locals are outraged at the scheme saying say this deforestation contradicts the very purpose of a climate summit.

They point out the environmental impact of the move as the Amazon plays a vital role in absorbing carbon for the world and providing biodiversity.

Along the partially-built road, lush rainforest towers on either side, while logs are piled high in the cleared land which stretches more than 8 miles through the rainforest into Belém.

Meanwhile, diggers and machines carve through the forest floor, paving over wetland to surface the road which will cut through a protected area.

Scientists say the road will leave two disconnected areas of protected forest, breaking up the biodiversity hotspot and disrupting the movement of wildlife who will no longer be able to cross to the other side to live and breed. The two areas also contain more than 800 species of plants and fungi.

Many are worried the construction of this road will also lead to more deforestation in the future, as the area will be more accessible for businesses.

Those who were making a living from the Amazon such as harvesting fruits in the woods are seeing their family industries destroyed – and they have not yet received any compensation from the state government.

“I do hope, late as it is, that the Brazilian government rethinks this whole project,” said Ron, Ron, of Noreus Ltd on the University of Keele Science Innovation Park. “Flying thousands of VIPs across the world, and building the infrastructure required to host them in the Amazon, seems to undermine the whole point of the UN climate conference and to do more harm than good in the earth’s fight against climate change.”

He added: “Ironically, the UN climate conference will be the deadline for nations of the world to submit their new plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.”

For more advice on green energy and protecting the environment, contact Ron Fox, on 0845 474 6641.

Caption: The UN COP30 logo.