Irony at its peak? Amazon deforestation sparks outrage as eight miles of thick rainforest cut down in Brazil to build 4-lane highway for COP30 Climate Summit
Drone Footage Shows Destruction of the Amazon
According to Daily Mail, drone images and videos reveal dense dirt tracks slicing through the lush greenery of the Amazon, as the government gears up for the arrival of over 50,000 visitors, including global leaders, in the city of Belem this November.
Traffic Relief or Environmental Sacrifice?
The road is aimed to alleviate traffic coming in and out of Belem, the city that will host the summit, as per the report.
However, environmentalists and locals, have raised concerns regarding the destructive effects the road will have on the Amazon, the world's most biologically diverse reservoir, as per Daily Mail.
The deforestation to construct the highway has raised concerns about how it harmonizes with the vision of a climate summit intended to safeguard the environment.
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Government Defends Project
Adler Silveira, the secretary of the state government's infrastructure, defended the project as an «important mobility intervention,» and said it was a «sustainable highway,» the Daily Mail reported. He said, «We can have a legacy for the population and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way,» Daily Mail quoted.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva claimed that the summit will be «a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon,» the Daily Mail quoted. Lula stressed that COP30 would highlight the needs of the Amazon and show the world what the federal government has done to protect it, according to Daily Mail.
Local Community Voices Concerns
Meanwhile, locals are unhappy with the government's decision. A resident who lives around 200m from the highway, Claudio Verequete, said «The new road has destroyed everything,» as quoted by
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