IBGE Releases Inverted World Map Centering Belém for COP30

Overview

• On November 11, the institute posted a south-up world map that places Pará and Belém at the visual center to mark COP30 in the host city.
• The projection flips the conventional orientation, which IBGE says is cartographically valid since map centering and “up” direction are matters of convention.
• The image delineates Brazil, the Amazon basin across neighboring countries, and the “Blue Amazon,” Brazil’s extended Atlantic economic zone.
• The move extends a series of recent IBGE maps under president Márcio Pochmann, who links the choices to Brazil’s repositioning and the rise of the Global South.
• IBGE also announced a December conference in Salvador where registrants will receive another inverted map that highlights Bahia.