Bolsonaro's 1,000km Amazon railway will cause climate chaos. It must be stopped

[Judi Lynn]

David Miranda

This project would rapidly deforest large areas of the Amazon, which would wreak havoc on the planet

Wed 28 Jul 2021 09.13 EDT



‘Today, almost 15% of the Amazon rainforest has already been deforested. When this number reaches 20%, the entire Amazonian system will collapse.’ Photograph: Léo Corrêa/AP


Despite increasing global concern, Jair Bolsonaro is determined to expand his exploitation of Brazil’s crucial natural resources. His latest project, one of the most destructive yet, would rapidly deforest large areas of the Amazon.

Bolsonaro’s plan? To construct a 1,000km railway system extending right into the heart of the Amazon rainforest – with trains passing within 500 metres of 726 official environmentally protected areas. The new railway, called Ferrogrão, would also entail construction within 10km of another 18 priority conservation areas established by the ministry of the environment.

The pretext for Bolsonaro’s environment-destroying plan is a problem that, while real, could be easily addressed through far less harmful measures. Currently, soybeans and other grains grown in the Brazilian midwest must travel a considerable distance – 2,000km – to reach seaports in the states of São Paulo and Paraná. The proposed railway would reduce transport costs and increase the competitiveness of these products in the international or national market by roughly 8%.

This underscores a key point of tension between Brazil and the international community. One reason the Amazon, a massive carbon bank, is so crucial to global climate policy is that countries in the global north became rich by exploiting their own natural resources, including through massive deforestation. Now that western European and North American countries are economically developed, they demand that Brazilians not do what they did: exploit our environmental resources so that we, too, can thrive economically. Many Brazilians, understandably, resent the hypocrisy.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/28/bolsonaro-amazon-railway-climate-chaos-must-be-stopped

Also posted in environment and energy:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127146938

[temporary311]

1. Short of the rest of the world stepping in

and making the Amazon an international protectorate, and no longer part of the countries in whose borders it currently sits, I'm not sure what else to do. The nations that currently control it are piss poor caretakers and the damage they are doing is cataclysmic, Brazil especially.