Brazil Advances $75M Amazon Highway and 965km Supreme Court–Backed Railway Despite Record-Low Deforestation

Carbon Brief's June 3, 2026 climate digest highlighted twin infrastructure threats to the Amazon: Brazil is investing $75 million in a new highway cutting through the Amazon rainforest, while the Brazilian Supreme Court issued a ruling advancing a 965-km railway project through the forest. These developments come alongside Amazon deforestation reaching its lowest rate since 2019 — attributable to intensified IBAMA enforcement and the Amazon Fund's reactivation under President Lula — with approximately 5 trees per second still being felled on average across the basin. Rainforest Foundation Norway warned that planned expansion of Brazil's beef production industry could drive up to 57,000 km² of additional deforestation by 2034. The new infrastructure projects historically serve as the primary driver of Amazonian clearance by opening frontier access roads. Carbon Brief also noted the wider CO2 removal challenge: novel removal approaches currently capture only 2 million tonnes annually — underscoring why forest protection and restoration remain the most cost-effective near-term climate action available. The parallel tracks of Amazon Fund disbursements and infrastructure expansion represent a fundamental tension in Brazil's Amazonian governance under the Lula administration.