BRICS sharpens focus on environmental resilience
BRICS is expanding environmental cooperation as member states seek coordinated responses to climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, pollution and growing pressure on natural resources.
The grouping has placed sustainability at the centre of its 2026 agenda under India’s presidency, linking environmental policy more closely with energy security, resilient infrastructure, technology and development finance. The official theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, reflects an effort to turn broad climate commitments into practical programmes involving governments, research institutions and development lenders.
Work through the BRICS Environment Working Group and the Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development has increasingly concentrated on areas where members believe collective action can produce measurable benefits. Circular economy policies, extended producer responsibility, waste management, restoration of degraded land, biodiversity protection and climate resilience are among the priorities being developed through the 2026 process. An action plan on circular economy and extended producer responsibility was presented during working-group discussions in April. ][2])
The approach builds on agreements reached during Brazil’s presidency in 2025, when environment ministers identified plastic pollution and waste, desertification, drought, ecosystem restoration and climate leadership as areas for intensified cooperation. BRICS governments also endorsed a Climate Leadership Agenda aimed at strengthening collective action under the Paris Agreement and broader international climate frameworks.
Environmental policy has gained greater strategic importance for BRICS because the grouping brings together several of the world’s largest economies, major energy producers, rapidly industrialising states and countries containing extensive forests, wetlands and other biodiversity-rich ecosystems. That diversity gives the bloc considerable influence over global climate and conservation negotiations but also creates differences over the pace and cost of decarbonisation.
Energy remains one of the most difficult parts of the equation. BRICS countries agreed in June to strengthen cooperation on energy security, sustainability, innovation, resilient infrastructure and capacity building. Discussions have emphasised diversified energy systems, dependable supply chains, cleaner technologies and the need to balance rising electricity demand with national climate commitments.
The grouping’s environmental strategy increasingly extends beyond emissions reduction. Land degradation and drought have emerged as prominent concerns ahead of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification conference being held in Mongolia from August 17 to 28. Experts involved in BRICS environmental discussions have examined financing for land restoration, support for smaller agricultural producers and mechanisms designed to encourage land-degradation neutrality without creating new trade barriers.
Marine and polar research is another expanding field. BRICS countries are working on a roadmap for cooperation in ocean and polar science, including joint research, technological exchanges and stronger scientific networks. Such cooperation is designed to improve understanding of sea-level rise, changing marine ecosystems, polar processes and biodiversity loss, while providing governments with better evidence for adaptation and resource-management policies.
Cities are also becoming part of the climate agenda. Representatives from BRICS cities meeting in Mumbai this month examined protection of coastal urban centres from sea-level rise, erosion and flooding, along with climate-responsive planning, green infrastructure and sustainable cooling. The discussions reflected growing recognition that environmental resilience will depend heavily on investment decisions made by fast-growing metropolitan regions.
Financing remains a persistent obstacle. Developing economies argue that the scale of investment required for adaptation, clean energy, biodiversity protection and resilient infrastructure cannot be met through public budgets alone. BRICS has therefore sought a larger role for development finance, including the New Development Bank, alongside private capital and innovative financing mechanisms.
Differences among members nevertheless complicate attempts to develop a single environmental position. Their economies have sharply different energy mixes, emissions trajectories and development priorities. Several rely heavily on fossil fuels, while others are seeking faster expansion of renewable power and low-carbon manufacturing. The bloc has also resisted pressure for developing economies to assume climate-finance responsibilities comparable with those historically borne by wealthier countries.
The policy direction under the 2026 presidency points towards deeper coordination rather than uniform national targets. BRICS is concentrating on areas where technology sharing, research, financing and policy exchanges can proceed despite differences over energy and emissions. Circular production systems, climate-resilient agriculture, ecosystem restoration, clean-energy technologies and environmental research are becoming increasingly interconnected within that framework.
The grouping has placed sustainability at the centre of its 2026 agenda under India’s presidency, linking environmental policy more closely with energy security, resilient infrastructure, technology and development finance. The official theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, reflects an effort to turn broad climate commitments into practical programmes involving governments, research institutions and development lenders.
Work through the BRICS Environment Working Group and the Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development has increasingly concentrated on areas where members believe collective action can produce measurable benefits. Circular economy policies, extended producer responsibility, waste management, restoration of degraded land, biodiversity protection and climate resilience are among the priorities being developed through the 2026 process. An action plan on circular economy and extended producer responsibility was presented during working-group discussions in April. ][2])
The approach builds on agreements reached during Brazil’s presidency in 2025, when environment ministers identified plastic pollution and waste, desertification, drought, ecosystem restoration and climate leadership as areas for intensified cooperation. BRICS governments also endorsed a Climate Leadership Agenda aimed at strengthening collective action under the Paris Agreement and broader international climate frameworks.
Environmental policy has gained greater strategic importance for BRICS because the grouping brings together several of the world’s largest economies, major energy producers, rapidly industrialising states and countries containing extensive forests, wetlands and other biodiversity-rich ecosystems. That diversity gives the bloc considerable influence over global climate and conservation negotiations but also creates differences over the pace and cost of decarbonisation.
Energy remains one of the most difficult parts of the equation. BRICS countries agreed in June to strengthen cooperation on energy security, sustainability, innovation, resilient infrastructure and capacity building. Discussions have emphasised diversified energy systems, dependable supply chains, cleaner technologies and the need to balance rising electricity demand with national climate commitments.
The grouping’s environmental strategy increasingly extends beyond emissions reduction. Land degradation and drought have emerged as prominent concerns ahead of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification conference being held in Mongolia from August 17 to 28. Experts involved in BRICS environmental discussions have examined financing for land restoration, support for smaller agricultural producers and mechanisms designed to encourage land-degradation neutrality without creating new trade barriers.
Marine and polar research is another expanding field. BRICS countries are working on a roadmap for cooperation in ocean and polar science, including joint research, technological exchanges and stronger scientific networks. Such cooperation is designed to improve understanding of sea-level rise, changing marine ecosystems, polar processes and biodiversity loss, while providing governments with better evidence for adaptation and resource-management policies.
Cities are also becoming part of the climate agenda. Representatives from BRICS cities meeting in Mumbai this month examined protection of coastal urban centres from sea-level rise, erosion and flooding, along with climate-responsive planning, green infrastructure and sustainable cooling. The discussions reflected growing recognition that environmental resilience will depend heavily on investment decisions made by fast-growing metropolitan regions.
Financing remains a persistent obstacle. Developing economies argue that the scale of investment required for adaptation, clean energy, biodiversity protection and resilient infrastructure cannot be met through public budgets alone. BRICS has therefore sought a larger role for development finance, including the New Development Bank, alongside private capital and innovative financing mechanisms.
Differences among members nevertheless complicate attempts to develop a single environmental position. Their economies have sharply different energy mixes, emissions trajectories and development priorities. Several rely heavily on fossil fuels, while others are seeking faster expansion of renewable power and low-carbon manufacturing. The bloc has also resisted pressure for developing economies to assume climate-finance responsibilities comparable with those historically borne by wealthier countries.
The policy direction under the 2026 presidency points towards deeper coordination rather than uniform national targets. BRICS is concentrating on areas where technology sharing, research, financing and policy exchanges can proceed despite differences over energy and emissions. Circular production systems, climate-resilient agriculture, ecosystem restoration, clean-energy technologies and environmental research are becoming increasingly interconnected within that framework.