Ø Senior Officers from BRICS Member Countries
hold discussions on Key Priorities of the Environment Working Group and Contact
Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development in New Delhi
·
Senior
Officers’ Meeting held: The
BRICS Environment Working Group and Contact Group on Climate Change and
Sustainable Development met on 17
August 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, under India’s BRICS
2026 Chairship.
·
Chairmanship: The meeting was chaired by Tanmay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
·
BRICS
participation:
Representatives from Brazil,
China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and UAE
participated.
·
BRICS’
expanding environmental role:
The alliance has evolved from an economic dialogue into a platform addressing pollution, biodiversity loss, global
warming, climate resilience, sustainable development and environmental
governance.
·
India’s
Chairship vision: India’s approach is guided by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s humanity-first
and people-centric vision.
·
Chairship theme: “Building
for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability.”
·
Four
priority areas: BRICS
environmental cooperation under India’s Chairship
focused on:
1.
Promoting
Sustainable Lifestyles
2.
Afforestation,
Forest Fire Management and Disaster Resilience
3.
Circular
Economy
4.
Climate
Adaptation
·
Integrated
approach: The
priorities recognise the interconnected nature of climate resilience, ecosystem
restoration, resource efficiency and sustainable development,
requiring holistic rather than silo-based solutions.
·
Extensive
consultations: Since
India assumed the Chairship, members conducted 21 virtual thematic/negotiation
meetings, 10 bilateral consultations, 2 thematic dialogues and 2 technical
webinars.
·
Consensus-building: The Senior Officers’ Meeting aimed to
consolidate these extensive deliberations and build consensus on key environmental
priorities.
·
Spirit
of cooperation:
Discussions were guided by mutual
respect, trust, cooperation and consensus-based decision-making.
·
Ministerial
meeting: The
deliberations were scheduled to culminate in the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers’
Meeting in New Delhi on 18 August 2026.
·
Recognition
of India’s leadership: BRICS
delegations congratulated India for its successful Chairship
and for facilitating productive
deliberations and consensus-building on environmental
priorities.
Under
India’s BRICS Chairship 2026, Senior Officers’ Meeting
of the Environment Working Group and Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable
Development was held in Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 17th August 2026. The meeting
was chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, Tanmay Kumar. The proceedings
witnessed participation from BRICS member countries including Federative Republic
of Brazil, People’s Republic of China, Arab Republic of Egypt, Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Russian Federation,
Republic of South Africa and United Arab Emirates.
In
his keynote address, the Chair stated that over the past two decades, the BRICS
alliance has expanded from an economic dialogue into an increasingly influential
platform for defining its approach to the critical challenges facing the environment,
including pressing global issues of increasing pollution, biodiversity loss as well
as global warming. He said, "Our partnership has broadened in terms of relevance
to sustainable development, climate resilience and adaptation, resource efficiency
and circular economy, as well as environmental governance."
The
Chair informed that BRICS 2026 has been guided by the vision of the Prime Minister
of India, Narendra Modi, that global cooperation must remain people-centric by advancing
a humanity-first approach. This vision finds expression in the Chairship theme - 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation,
and Sustainability'. India has sought to advance environmental action through approaches
that integrate ecological sustainability with development objectives, it was stated.
Over
the course of India’s Chairship, the Environment Working
Group and the Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development have together
advanced cooperation across four interconnected priority areas: Promoting Sustainable
Lifestyles; Afforestation, Forest Fire Management and Disaster Resilience; Circular
Economy and Adaptation.
The
Chair stated that these priorities reflect both the shared environmental challenges
confronting the BRICS countries and the collective wisdom and strength to address
them. They reflect the unanimous recognition that climate resilience, ecosystem
restoration, resource efficiency and sustainable development are deeply interconnected
challenges that require integrated and holistic responses rather than isolated interventions
in silos.
It
was informed that since the commencement of India’s Chairship,
Member Countries have engaged through 21 virtual thematic and negotiation meetings,
10 bilateral consultations, 2 thematic dialogues and 2 technical webinars, reflecting
an extraordinary level of commitment to advancing the shared agenda. The marathon
deliberations would culminate in building a consensus on the key priorities during
the Senior Officers' meeting being held today.
Concluding
the address, the chair expressed confidence that the spirit of co-operation and
mutual respect which has guided the collective dialogues and discussions so far would continue to
guide the deliberations today. The 12th BRICS Environment Ministers' Meeting is
scheduled to be held in New Delhi tomorrow.
The
participating delegations from the BRICS member countries congratulated India for
its successful leadership as the BRICS Chair and bringing together each side through
productive deliberations on the priority areas, under an atmosphere of mutual respect,
trust and consensus-based decision making.