Climate change putting Brazil's highways at risk

The recent catastrophic floods in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul highlighted the severe impacts of climate change on the country, above all the human cost. But changing climate patterns are also set to have long-term effects on Brazil’s infrastructure, particularly its network of highways.

According to a recent economic policy note by the Research Center for Macroeconomics of Inequalities at the University of São Paulo (MADE-USP), extreme weather events have significantly compromised Brazil’s highways, making them increasingly vulnerable. 

In total, 54 percent of cargo in the country is transported by road, a rate that jumps to 73 percent when excluding iron ore, according to a June study by the Dom Cabral Foundation.

The heavy dependence on this type of transportation in Brazil has roots that go back to the 1950s and 1960s, during the building of the new capital, Brasília, and the keen interest to integrate all the states in the country. Consequently, highways became number one on the government’s investment list, which led to greater industrial development, especially in the automotive sector.

MADE-USP researchers Victor Medeiros and Rafael Ribeiro based their...