Deutsche Bahn conceals its involvement in Amazon rainforest rail and port project
Mikaell from the Brazilian organization Justiça nos Trilhos in front of the DB headquarters in Berlin (© RdR/ Klaus Schenck)
Nov 13, 2024
Germany’s national railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) carefully cultivates a public image of environmental and social responsibility. However, its possible involvement in a destructive private infrastructure project in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest suggests a stark contrast – and it appears DB may be trying to obscure the truth about its participation.
In June 2024, Rainforest Rescue, together with our Brazilian partner organization Justiça nos Trilhos, the Chile-Latin America Research and Documentation Center (FDCL) and Misereor, officially filed a complaint against the possible involvement of Deutsche Bahn (DB) in the planned private Grao-Pará Maranhao (GPM) rail and port project in Brazil. We delivered the letter in person at DB’s headquarters in Berlin.
Three Portuguese businessmen, through their company GPM, are planning to build a 520-kilometer private freight railway line and a connected private port terminal in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil. The project is intended to enable the cost-effective export of many millions of tons of soy and iron ore from South America every year.
The DB and its complaints department insist that DB has not yet been involved in the project. In a letter, DB CEO Dr. Richard Lutz explains that “the subsidiary DB Engineering & Consulting (DB E&C) merely expressed its basic interest in providing technical services for the rail and port project by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the project operators of GPM at the beginning of 2023. However, before DB E&C will consider participating in the project, a number of additional conditions will have to be met.”
DB involved in intensive lobbying
But the statement does not seem to fully reflect reality. Behind the scenes, DB appears to be continuously and actively supporting the project operator, GPM. For example, DB staff members have participated in GPM meetings with ministers, politicians and state officials in Brazil as well as in presentations at the German embassy. With DB – one of the world’s largest railway and logistics groups – as a partner, GPM is undoubtedly gaining in importance and credibility.
Not only in Brazil, but also in Europe, DB seems to be playing a decisive role in advancing the project in the rainforest. In October 2024, DB’s complaints department responded to an inquiry from us: “Of course, DB E&C staff also participated in meetings with GPM in connection with the project.”
The background to our inquiry was that, according to our research, GPM has been negotiating with the European Commission about funding from the Global Gateway initiative for the past year. Global Gateway is the European Commission’s 300 billion euro response to China’s “New Silk Road Initiative”.
In order to convince the EU to finance the project in Brazil, GPM – apparently together with DB – is implementing high-profile communication strategies to gain political support in Brazil and Europe.
To this end, GPM has made at least three presentations in Brussels – including a high-level meeting between the EU and Brazilian governors of the Northeast region at the headquarters of the European Commission on May 15. Jutta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, and Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations, were also present.
Funding from the EU Global Gateway Initiative?
The meetings apparently paid off: The EU status for the GPM project is currently “pre-final investment decision” (pre-FID). The final investment decision is the point at which project participants commit to significant financial expenditures, marking the start of the transition from planning to project implementation.
According to the DB complaints department, DB has its own department for EU and European affairs and also maintains an office in Brussels, which is why “different DB departments may be involved in various meetings – always with the aim of safeguarding DB’s interests”.
Rainforest Rescue is calling on Deutsche Bahn and the European Commission not to be involved in the GPM project by funding or otherwise supporting it. More than 63,000 people have already signed our petition, “Brazil: Keep Deutsche Bahn out of Amazonia!”.
DB CEO Dr. Richard LutzReply letter from Dr. Richard Lutz, Chairman of the DB Board of Management, dated June 26, 2024: https://www.regenwald.org/files/de/Antwortschreiben-Dr-Lutz-DB-Vorstandsvorsitzender-27-6-24.pdf
ministers, politicians and state officials in Brazil
GOM, 2023. CONSTRUCTIVE MEETING WITH THE MINISTER OF PORTS AND AIRPORTS: https://graoparamaranhao.com/en/news/meeting-minister-of-ports-airports/
presentations at the German embassyGPM, 2023. GPM PRESENTS A VENTURE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DB AND SYSFER: https://graoparamaranhao.com/en/news/gpm-presents-a-venture-in-partnership-with-db-and-sysfer/
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Brazil: Keep Deutsche Bahn out of Amazonia!
The rainforest
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