(Updates throughout)
A new 13-km (8-mile) four-lane highway on the perimeter of Brazil’s Belem is cutting through protected Amazon rainforest to accommodate traffic for this year’s COP30 climate, according to media reports.
A BBC report showed a drone view of the road, to be known as Avenida Liberdade, which will offer another route into the city centre from the east.
According to Carbon Pulse calculations, a four-lane highway spanning 13 km should require around 300 acres of land.
The project, which has been under consideration since 2012 as a way of easing traffic in the capital of Para state, has drawn criticism from conservationists and local communities who warned of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and displacement.
The Para state government, had shelved the project for years due to environmental concerns, but revived it as part of a broader infrastructure push ahead of COP30 that includes building new hotels and conference facilities, expanding the size of the local airport, and redeveloping the city’s port to accommodate large cruise ships.
Officials described the highway as a “sustainable” mobility project, incorporating wildlife crossings, solar lighting, and bike lanes.
Brazil’s federal government is positioning COP30, which takes from Nov. 10-21, as an opportunity to highlight Amazon conservation efforts.
Brazilian COP30 President-Designate Andre Correa do Lago emphasised forest conservation in his first open letter about the upcoming summit, released earlier this week.
“Forests can buy us time in climate action in our rapidly closing window of opportunity,” he wrote, adding that reversing deforestation and recovering what has been lost can unlock massive removals of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
COP30 is also due to take stock of new national climate action plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), to the Paris Agreement.
All parties to the agreement are due to submit updated NDCs by September, covering the 2025-35 period.
By Arshreet Singh and Mike Szabo – news@carbon-pulse.com
