BRICS India summit needs a green and resilient agenda, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• India will host the next BRICS Summit in 2026, focusing on resilience and an inclusive green agenda.
• The Donald Trump administration's stance against multilateralism and climate change necessitates a stabilizing force like BRICS.
• Climate change impacts are a common concern across BRICS nations, requiring collective action on adaptation and sustainable development.
• The July 2025 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro resulted in the BRICS Leaders’ Framework Declaration on Climate Finance.
• India's leadership of BRICS in 2026 provides an opportunity to drive collaborative global action on resilience and a green agenda.

Detailed Insights:

• Given increased vulnerabilities to climate change, resilience is a top priority for the Global South, underscoring India's global leadership on an inclusive green agenda.
• The BASIC grouping (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) has been useful at the UNFCCC, but a larger grouping of major developing country players may add greater heft.
• Several BRICS members have steered the global climate process after the Paris Agreement, with Brazil, Egypt, and the UAE presiding over climate conferences post-COVID-19.
• A BRICS act would be useful on a unilateral side-stepping of UNFCCC principles such as the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
• Including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund chiefs in the BRICS Summit is essential for a global push on climate finance.
• India's green agenda focusing on resilience at the BRICS Summit 2026 would resonate with Ethiopia, the host of COP32 in 2027.
• A BRICS push keeps Chinese ambitions on global leadership on a green agenda in check.

Key Concepts Involved:

• BRICS: An acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, representing major emerging economies.
• UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an international environmental treaty addressing climate change.
• Climate Finance: Financial resources aimed at supporting mitigation and adaptation activities to address climate change.