Amazon-Sized Hypocrisy: Amazon Forest Cut Down for Road to Climate Summit
When it comes to climate activism, the eco-left only seems to care about the environment when it’s convenient for them. In one of the most blatant displays of hypocrisy yet, part of the Amazon rainforest is being cut down to build a highway for the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil.
The BBC reports,
“The state government of Pará had touted the idea of this highway, known as Avenida Liberdade, as early as 2012, but it had repeatedly been shelved because of environmental concerns. Now a host of infrastructure projects have been resurrected or approved to prepare the city for the COP summit. 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, so “we can have a legacy for the population and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way”.
For over a decade, environmental concerns blocked this highway’s construction. But now that climate elites need a smoother ride to their conference, those concerns have magically disappeared. If this doesn’t reveal the green movement’s double standards, what does?
Cutting down one of the most critical carbon sinks in the world to host a climate conference is the definition of environmental hypocrisy. Here’s why:
- Sets a Dangerous Precedent – If climate activists are willing to bulldoze forests when it benefits them, how can they credibly lecture others about conservation? This move sends the message that environmentalism is flexible when it’s politically or logistically convenient.
- Greenwashing in Action – The eco-left regularly criticizes industries like agriculture and energy for deforestation, yet they now make exceptions for their own needs. This selective outrage reveals their activism is more about optics than real impact.
- Harms Local Communities – It’s not just trees being uprooted; people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, too. The BBC spoke with Claudio Verequete, a local who used to make a living harvesting açaí berries from the trees that have now been cleared. “Everything was destroyed,” he says, gesturing at the clearing. “Our harvest has already been cut down. We no longer have that income to support our family.”
- Alternative Solutions Ignored – If protecting the environment were truly a priority, summit organizers could have explored alternative options—improving existing roads, using sustainable transport solutions, or hosting the event in a city that doesn’t require deforestation. Instead, they chose convenience over conservation.
- Contradicts COP30’s Own Messaging – Climate summits push for stricter deforestation laws and sustainable land use, yet their own actions say otherwise. How can they expect the world to take their policies seriously when they refuse to follow them?
Which begs the question: If a tree falls in the Amazon for a climate conference, does anyone hear the hypocrisy?
March 12, 2025