UN Hypocrites Bulldoze Thousands of Acres of Amazon Rainforest for Four-Lane Highway to Climate Change Summit
Why let protecting the Amazon rainforest get in the way of “environmental” activism?
In the lead-up to the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, a new four-lane highway is cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest.
The event, to be held in November, is expected to host more than 50,000, including world leaders and high-profile activists who will surely fly on private jets and traverse a road that has been scarred into the pristine landscape.
The state government touts the highway’s “sustainable” credentials, but some locals and conservationists are outraged at the environmental impact.
The Amazon plays a vital role in absorbing carbon for the world and providing biodiversity, and many say this deforestation contradicts the very purpose of a climate summit.
Along the partially built road, lush rainforest towers on either side – a reminder of what was once there. Logs are piled high in the cleared land which stretches more than 13km (8 miles) through the rainforest into Belém.
Diggers and machines carve through the forest floor, paving over wetland to surface the road which will cut through a protected area.
A local resident, Claudio Verequete, told BBC, said he used to earn his living from harvesting berries from the tress that used to be there.
“Everything was destroyed,” he said. “Our harvest has already been cut down. We no longer have that income to support our family.”
Adler Silveira, the state government’s infrastructure secretary, listed this highway as one of 30 projects happening in the city to “prepare” and “modernise” it.
Silveira added it would provice “a legacy for the population and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way.”
Climate insanity: "A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit..."
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 12, 2025
So let me get this straight: The climate cult is literally paving paradise, destroying nature all to build a… pic.twitter.com/D4qALYuId2
