In the Vietnam War, there was an old shibboleth bandied around about someone supposedly saying "We had to destroy the village to save it." Disregarding the historical veracity of that quote, it's nevertheless a sentiment that should be familiar to the climate scolds, who are willing to destroy our economy, our lifestyle, and even our freedom to live where and how we choose to save the planet from warming by a couple of degrees.
But now we see an even more egregious case coming from the climate panic-mongers. The United Nations' COP30 climate summit is next month, and will be held in Belém, Brazil, for some reason. Why does that matter? Because, to accommodate the traffic to Belém, Brazil has constructed an eight-mile, four-lane highway to allow for all the limousine traffic to and from the venue.
Yes, that's right - they are destroying the rain forest to save it. The Daily Sceptic's Environment Editor, Chris Morrison, has the numbers.
Spare a thought for the BBC’s Justin Rowlatt as he considers his upcoming trip to the Brazilian city of Belém to report on COP30. Saving the world and its environment is his gig so how will he face the prospect of travelling down a new four-lane highway cut through the dense Amazon rainforest to help speed him and his 70,000 other political activists to their luxury hotels? Based on trees per acre, an estimated 100,000 mature specimens have been chopped down and logged to build the eight-mile Avenida Liberdade causing untold disruption to local wildlife.
That's 100,000 trees, more or less. Now, despite what the scolds would have us believe, the slight rise in CO2 has actually been good for the Amazon rain forest, along with forests and plant life in general. That's good for the planet and good for us, as plants literally use CO2, sunlight and trace minerals to produce food. That's why biologists refer to plants as "producers." Without this, life would be impossible, and fortunately, plants in the Amazon and elsewhere are doing well.
Happily, all is not lost in despair. If he wishes, the BBC’s activist-in-chief can consider recent findings published in Nature Plants that increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have led to substantial growth in the remaining Amazon forest, with mature trees growing by over 6% a decade. Perhaps he could start promoting on the BBC the enormous benefits of CO2, rightly known as the gas of life. He could front a campaign to assuage his dented COP conscience along the lines: ‘Forward with Carbon Dioxide, not Chainsaws.’
Despite the best efforts of Greta Thunberg and her ideological allies at the United Nations, there isn't going to be any miraculous turn away from our current energy sources.
Read More: Worldwide Energy Now: Coal, Oil and Gas Aren't Going Away
I do have a question, though, for the COP30 organizers: Why does this have to be held in Belém, Brazil, of all places? Why not someplace where it wasn't necessary to raze eight miles of rain forest for a highway that may never be used again, at least, not at this level of capacity? Why not the Hague? Why not a Marriott conference center in Maryland? Why not a conference center in Singapore? Why here? So the climate scolds attending can see the rain forest for themselves, with their climate-controlled limousines sparing them the necessity of hearing the complaints of the people who live along this new highway's right-of-way?
Also, there are already open routes from airport to venue; this new road is being cut right through the forest, to save attendees the inconvenience of driving through the town. The BBC, in a recent article, provided a map:
— Ward Clark (@TheGreatLander) October 20, 2025
There would appear to be ample routes already in existence. Why not use those? Why does Brazil need to build this new highway, which is by the way destroying a lot of habitat? I thought wildlife habitat was something the scolds claimed to care about.
Of course, we all know the answer. It's the same thing that the scolds always do: It's about control, and the people they want to control is us - not them, as witness their use of private jets and private yachts to get around to their climate conferences:
Read More: 'Green' Hypocrites and Their Private Jets
None of this is about the climate. None of it is about the rain forest that they have caused to be cut down. None of it is about the environment that most of them never see, unless it's whipping past the windows of their limousines - or viewed from 35,000 feet above, through the window of a Gulfstream jet. None of it is about any of that; the agenda is green in skin but red at heart. The agenda here is the reduction, if not the destruction, of free-market economies, of the liberty and property of the people of the countries who are sending delegates to this nonsense.
It's about control. It's always about control. When you understand that, the rest becomes painfully obvious.
