BRICS Bloc Approves Climate Finance Framework
The BRICS economic bloc approved its first joint climate finance framework on Thursday, crafting joint stance for first time. This very significant efforts toward funding climate action sets the stage for a shared position, a very important step for the fastest growing regional grouping – ahead of Cop30 in Brazil.
The BRICS framework, agreed during the during a high-level meeting on climate change and sustainable development, outlines the priorities of the BRICS, starting with calls for reform of multilateral development banks, the scaling up of concessional finance and the mobilising of private capital to support climate efforts in the Global South. The final document awaits submission to BRICS heads of state at their July meeting for adoption.
The 30th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) the latest United Nations climate change summit, will take place in November in Belem, Brazil under totally shifting global context from the last one.
Since Donald Trumps return to the White House, he has shifted away from climate change agreements and funding, while rejecting the science behind it. Many leaders within the Republican led administration totally reject calls to combat climate change, hence China, the second largest economy in the world is expected to take the leading role in advancing climate change.
The responsibility to fund climate change initiatives will also require other parties to innovatively explore other sources of resources.
The BRICS framework document will guide a common and collective Brics action in the area of climate finance – encompassing calls by the global south for the reforms of multilateral banks, more concessional finance, and also the mobilisation of private capital and regulatory matters to ensure that flows can reach developing countries.
Brazil, which holds the presidency of the BRICS said that the bloc’s latest climate effort reflected a shift towards proactive coordination in international negotiations.
The leading members of the BRICS, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have coordinated informally for years, making intense coordination towards the climate finance framework a major step in cooperation and group action.
The Kazan Declaration of 2024 which placed the Paris Agreement at the centre of its strategy, rejecting unilateral trade measures taken under the guise of environmental policy, while linking sustainability to development, equity and calls for global justice.
Climate change poses a major threat to humanity. The United Nations has consistently called for urgent climate action to serve humanity from catastrophe.
The prevalence of droughts, violent floods, extremely high temperatures and severely low weather all suggest worsening climate conditions which require global cooperation and action to protect humanity.
