Swathe of Amazon chopped down to make way for road for COP30 climate summit

Eight miles of rainforest was cut down for the road.

The summit is set to take place in the Brazilian city of Belém in November.

The highway is being built in an aim to ease traffic ahead of COP30.

Climate groups have spoken out against the decision to cut down crucial rainforest land for the road, despite local government has labelled the project as 'sustainable'. 

Photo's from the project's show logs piled high along a dirt road running for more than eight miles.

Local man Claudio Verequete who used to harvest açaí berries from the felled trees told the BBC that his entire livelihood had been destroyed by the building of the road.

"Our harvest has already been cut down. We no longer have that income to support our family," he said.

He revealed that the government did not provide any compensation, forcing his family to rely on savings.

"Our fear is that one day someone will come here and say: 'Here's some money. We need this area to build a gas station, or to build a warehouse.' And then we'll have to leave.

"We were born and raised here in the community. Where are we going to go?" he continued.

Additionally, the road, which is walled on either side, does not provide any connections to Verequete’s community.

"For us who live on the side of the highway, there will be no benefits. There will be benefits for the trucks that will pass through.

“If someone gets sick, and needs to go to the centre of Belém, we won't be able to use it," added the local.

Government infrastructure secretary of the state, Adler Silveira, persisted that the road is needed to 'modernise' the city ahead of the global summit.

"We can have a legacy for the population and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way," he explained.