The United Nations is currently having tens of thousands of acres of the Amazon Rainforest cut down and paved over to make roadways for its annual COP30 climate summit taking place this November in the Brazilian state of Pará.
The roadway is being paved to cut down potential traffic congestion for its attendees, who amount to more than 50,000 people, according to Straight Arrow News.
Adler Silveira, Secretary of Pará’s government’s infrastructure, stated the highway is both an “important mobility intervention” and a “sustainable highway.”
According to the COP30 host website, “The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the largest global event for discussions and negotiations on climate change. The meeting is held annually, with the presidency rotating among the five regions recognized by the United Nations.”
The highway, which went through its first round of construction last fall, will have a length of 8.2 miles and consist of four lanes. ABC News reports the roadway “will connect two existing road systems and function as a new entry and exit route for the Belém Metropolitan Region.”
The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has been a subject of controversy and an important issue for advocates of climate change. According to Gript, in “August 2024, large fires burned across the Amazon, Cerrado savannah, Pantanal wetland, and Sao Paulo. Many of the fires were man-made and used for deforestation and pasture management.”
The rainforest lost 54.2 million hectares in the 21st century. This makes it ironic that a climate summit would require any kind of deforestation – especially that of a protected rainforest like the Amazon – in order for it to take place.
