Developing countries will gather in New Delhi in September for the 18th edition of the summit, with a key pillar focusing on building resilience in agriculture and in disaster risk reduction.
Climate-related risks are ever present in developing economies - severe droughts, floods, heatwaves, and cyclones—that threaten high-exposure infrastructure, food security, and macroeconomic stability, prompting coordinated disaster risk reduction frameworks and local-currency climate financing strategies.
BRICS countries are adapting to climate change and introducing green energy as developing countries embrace the solutions for the challenges that will come in years to come.
Climate cooperation is essential to India's hosting of the summit, with climate experts stressing that the climate agenda is increasingly shifting from discussions about the pace of emissions reductions to practical adaptation measures.
In 2023, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the planet had experienced a “season of boiling” (the hottest summer on record) and noted that the climate crisis had already started. The following year, temperatures rose even higher and, according to annual data, crossed the 1.5°C threshold established by the Paris Climate Agreement as a “red line”.
BRICS countries face diverse challenges - China has suffered unprecedented flooding in recent years, while Brazil has been hit by abnormal heatwaves, which not only destroy crops but also trigger large-scale forest fires.
Russia’s temperature is changing two and a half times faster than the global average, and Moscow has entered the top three fastest-warming cities. Ahead of the Russian capital are only Tehran (Iran) and Kolkata (India).
In South Africa, the country is likely to be hit by the Super El Niño this year, with climate risk experts warning that drier conditions could create the perfect conditions for devastating wildfires, potentially driving up food prices.
Previous El Niño events have had devastating consequences for the country’s agricultural sector-between 2014 and 2016, drought conditions affected many parts of the country and led to decreased food production.
Maize farming was a sector that was severely affected, with only 8.9 million tonnes of the crop produced to meet an annual demand of roughly 12 million tonnes.
According to Riskonet Africa, the devastating wildfires sweeping through France and Spain must serve as a warning for South Africa as it prepares for another El Niño cycle.
They warn that wildfires should no longer be viewed as isolated seasonal events but should be viewed as major risks capable of disrupting communities, agriculture, infrastructure, water supplies, insurance, and supply chains simultaneously.
In India, the hosts of this year’s Summit, the term “Viksit Bharat” which denotes a developed country (something the nation wants to achieve by 2047) is particularly apt - this is what India hopes for all developing countries.
Climate cooperation has been central to BRICS Summits - at the summit held in Ufa, Russia in 2015, the group’s countries declared their readiness to address climate change at both the global and national levels and at the 17th Summit in Rio de Janeiro, key documents were agreed to, including the BRICS Leaders’ Framework Declaration on Climate Finance and a broader Climate Leadership Agenda.
Across BRICS nations, a clean energy transition is already full speed ahead, with wind and solar projects outnumbering planned fossil fuel plants. What is missing is a joint financial architecture to match that momentum. India’s BRICS presidency is about a joint financial architecture to match the speed of the transition to clean energy and the opportunity to build it beyond declaration and toward delivery.
As BRICS chair, India can push for accelerated deployment of three specific mechanisms. First, BRICS can amplify the reach of Project Bridge, the blockchain-enabled multi-CBDC platform developed by BRICS’ central banks, as a settlement layer for climate finance transactions, reducing dollar intermediation and transaction costs for cross-border green investment within the bloc.
Second, India can push a formal framework for strategically utilising Gulf Sovereign Wealth Fund co-investment in NDB climate projects.
Third, accelerate the rupee bond program across BRICS currencies, leveraging India’s expertise in building large-scale, low-cost digital public infrastructure (DPI) frameworks.
Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, speaking at the ‘BRICS@20: Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability’ meeting in New Delhi in May, noted the importance of joint efforts to reduce the digital development gap between countries and to address the consequences of climate change.
Tackling climate challenges, he stressed, depends on financial commitments.
“Climate change continues to be a defining challenge. Climate action must go hand in hand with climate justice, with credible commitments, adequate financing, and accessible support,” Jaishankar said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that for India, climate justice is not an alternative but a moral duty.
He noted that the health of the Earth and human beings are interlinked. He further went on to say that under the India Chairship, BRICS will be redefined to further South South cooperation.
He emphasised India’s deep commitment to environmental action; elaborated on the initiatives taken by India to take pro people and pro planet growth and development; highlighted the initiatives of the International Solar Alliance, the coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure, biofuel alliance, big cat mission.
The growing influence of BRICS in the global economy marks a decisive shift towards a more balanced, inclusive, and multipolar international order - September’s Summit could also prove decisive in climate cooperation and significantly shaping global resilience to climate change.
*Professor Govender is an academic and a keen observer of issues related to international relations.