FERROGRÃO: FRAGILIDADES E LIÇÕES PARA A IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DE UMA AGENDA DE INFRAESTRUTURA SUSTENTÁVEL

This executive summary by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the planning, governance, and environmental risks of the EF-170 railway (Ferrogrão) in Brazil. The document identifies significant fragilities in the project's economic modeling, socio-environmental assessments, and administrative transparency, warning that without mitigation, the project could induce substantial deforestation in Mato Grosso.

• The Ferrogrão project, a greenfield railway of approximately 930 km crossing the Amazon forest, aims to reduce transport costs for soy exports from Mato Grosso to the Miritituba transshipment terminal in Pará, with an estimated cost of nearly R$ 17 billion.
• Economic analysis of the project is considered fragile because it fails to account for competing logistics investments, such as the Ferrovia de Integração Centro-Oeste (FICO), the expansion of the Ferronorte to Lucas do Rio Verde, and the modernization of the BR-163/MT/PA highway.
• The project's socio-environmental planning is insufficient; the Technical and Economic Viability Study (EVTEA) only followed approximately 63% of the Valec manual and included only three of the ten main socio-environmental components listed in international guidelines, with only forest cover actually analyzed in the EVTEA.
• The construction of the railway is projected to induce the deforestation of 2,043 km² of native vegetation across nearly forty municipalities in Mato Grosso due to increased land demand from farmers and ranchers. The associated carbon emissions cost is estimated at US$ 1.9 billion based on a carbon price of US$ 25/tCO2e.
• There are significant governance and transparency issues, including the fact that the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) was being developed during and after public hearings, and certain documents were not available via the Access to Information Law (LAI).

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2020). FERROGRÃO: FRAGILIDADES E LIÇÕES PARA A IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DE UMA AGENDA DE INFRAESTRUTURA SUSTENTÁVEL. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Ferrograo-Fragilidades-e-Licoes-para-a-Implementacao-de-uma-Agenda-de-Infraestrutura-Sustentavel.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. FERROGRÃO: FRAGILIDADES E LIÇÕES PARA A IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DE UMA AGENDA DE INFRAESTRUTURA SUSTENTÁVEL. 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Ferrograo-Fragilidades-e-Licoes-para-a-Implementacao-de-uma-Agenda-de-Infraestrutura-Sustentavel.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=FERROGRÃO: FRAGILIDADES E LIÇÕES PARA A IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DE UMA AGENDA DE INFRAESTRUTURA SUSTENTÁVEL |date=September 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Ferrograo-Fragilidades-e-Licoes-para-a-Implementacao-de-uma-Agenda-de-Infraestrutura-Sustentavel.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2020ferrogro, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{FERROGRÃO: FRAGILIDADES E LIÇÕES PARA A IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DE UMA AGENDA DE INFRAESTRUTURA SUSTENTÁVEL}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Ferrograo-Fragilidades-e-Licoes-para-a-Implementacao-de-uma-Agenda-de-Infraestrutura-Sustentavel.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }