New Delhi, Aug 17: Senior officials from BRICS member countries on Monday held discussions in the national capital on strengthening cooperation in environmental protection, climate action and sustainable development.The meeting of the BRICS Environment Working Group and the Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development was organised at Bharat Mandapam as part of India’s BRICS Chairship 2026.
The meeting was chaired by Tanmay Kumar, Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Delegations from Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates took part in the deliberations.Addressing the officials, Kumar said BRICS had expanded considerably from its initial focus on economic cooperation and had emerged as an important platform for addressing shared global challenges, including climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.
He highlighted the growing scope of cooperation in areas such as climate resilience, adaptation, sustainable development, efficient use of resources, circular economy practices and environmental governance.India’s BRICS Chairship, he said, is guided by the principles of people-centric international cooperation and a humanity-first approach.
The chairship’s theme is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability”.During India’s tenure as chair, BRICS members have focused their environmental cooperation on four broad priorities — promoting sustainable lifestyles, strengthening afforestation and forest-fire management along with disaster resilience, advancing the circular economy, and improving climate adaptation.
Officials said these priorities reflect common challenges faced by BRICS nations and underline the need for coordinated action to strengthen climate resilience, restore ecosystems and promote sustainable resource use.Since the beginning of India’s BRICS Chairship, member countries have conducted 21 virtual thematic and negotiation meetings, 10 bilateral consultations, two thematic dialogues and two technical webinars on relevant issues.
The latest deliberations are expected to assist member countries in developing greater convergence on environmental priorities ahead of the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on Tuesday.Participating delegations welcomed India’s leadership of the BRICS environmental agenda and appreciated the discussions held during the chairship, describing them as constructive and based on mutual trust, respect and consensus.
