In a historic step, the BRICS economic bloc consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa endorsed its first collective climate finance structure on Thursday, marking a new era of collective climate action before COP30, scheduled to occur in Brazil this November.
The nonbinding framework was agreed upon at a summit-level meeting on climate change and sustainable development. The framework lays out some priorities including reforming the multilateral development banks, raising concessional finance, and mobilising private capital to enhance climate resilience in the Global South. The report is to be submitted to the BRICS heads of state during their summit in July.
This is the first time BRICS will have a shared action guide on climate finance, with topics such as regulatory reform, concessional financing, and mobilization of capital for developing countries,” said Tatiana Rosito, Brazil’s Secretary of International Affairs.
The presidency of Brazil characterized the accord as a transition from passive diplomacy to pro-active coordination in international climate talks. While BRICS countries have informally worked together in the past, this is their first formal move as a negotiating group on climate finance.
The framework feeds into Brazil’s “Road Map Baku-Belem” initiative, which aims to raise $1.3 trillion in climate finance for developing nations by 2035. While not part of official UN climate negotiations, the framework could help resolve existing deadlocks and shape future agreements.
Some of the key initiatives are Brazil’s planned Tropical Forests Forever Fund to draw private investment in forest preservation, a BRICS climate R&D platform, a climate policy impact lab, and innovative carbon accounting mechanisms to measure trade-related emissions.
“This collective position gives developing nations a stronger voice in the global climate finance architecture,” said Brazil’s foreign ministry official Liliam Chagas.
The action has been widely interpreted as a strategic positioning to shape COP30 decisions and spur effective climate action through south-south collaboration.
