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US President Donald Trump said this Sunday (09/11) that Brazil had destroyed forests to build a highway for “environmental activists to travel” to COP30, the 30th United Nations climate change conference, which starts this Monday (10/11) in Belém, Pará state.
He was referring to the construction of a new four-lane highway that will cut through tens of thousands of hectares of the Amazon rainforest.
The Pará state government proposed building a highway called Calle Liberdade in 2012, but the project was previously shelved due to environmental concerns.
“They destroyed the Brazilian rainforest to build a four-lane highway for environmentalists to travel on. This became a huge scandal,” the US president wrote, further sharing a video from American channel Fox News criticizing the initiative.
The state government has promoted the highway as “sustainable,” but residents and environmentalists have criticized its environmental impact. The BBC published a report on the subject in March this year.
At the time this report was submitted, the COP30 Extraordinary Secretariat, associated with the Office of the President of the Republic, stated that the construction of Calle Liberdade is not the responsibility of the federal government and is not part of the 33 infrastructure works planned for the event.
Pará state governor Helder Barbalho responded to Trump’s post, saying in the X publication: “Instead of talking about roads, the president of North America should be pointing out ways to fight climate change.”
“We will be able to celebrate the historic reduction in deforestation in the Amazon, with a focus on the state of Pará, which achieved the best results,” the governor said.
Barbalho also said the U.S. president should “follow the example of the Brazilian government and invest more than $1 billion to protect forests around the world.”
He concluded the review by inviting President Trump to try Takaka, a signature dish of Amazonian cuisine.
“There’s still time to pass COP30, President Trump. We’re waiting for you with hawks. It’s better to act than post.”
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President Trump did not visit Belem to participate in the meeting. The US presidential administration even said it would not send any senior officials to the event.
The lack of U.S. government representation could be a hurdle in international climate negotiations, experts say.
Shortly after taking office, President Trump pledged to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which upholds international commitments to combat climate change, in January 2025.
“This ‘climate change’ is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated against the world,” he told the United Nations General Assembly in September of this year. “If you don’t get rid of this green facade, your country will fail.”
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