Brics opposes unilateral trade steps like EU carbon border tax
At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, member states adopted a joint position opposing "unilateral, punitive, discriminatory and protectionist" trade measures taken in the name of climate action, naming carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs) as an example.
The declaration called for climate action to be pursued through equity and "common but differentiated responsibilities," rather than measures that shift adjustment costs onto developing economies.
The bloc affirmed that energy security requires diversified supply sources, resilient infrastructure and stable markets, and explicitly acknowledged that fossil fuels will continue to play a role in the global energy mix through the transition period.
Members reiterated support for a cooperative, multilateral approach to climate finance and mitigation, in preference to trade-linked climate measures imposed by individual countries or blocs.
Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC)
CBDR-RC is a foundational equity principle of international climate law, first codified in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adopted at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It holds that while all countries share responsibility for addressing climate change, developed countries — having contributed disproportionately to historical emissions and possessing greater capacity — should take the lead in mitigation and support developing countries with finance and technology.
The declaration's explicit invocation of "equity" alongside its opposition to CBAM is a direct application of the CBDR-RC principle — arguing that a uniform carbon price on imports, applied without regard to a country's development stage, is inconsistent with differentiated responsibility.
The Energy Trilemma and the Continuing Role of Fossil Fuels
The "energy trilemma" is a policy framework — popularised by the World Energy Council — describing the difficulty of simultaneously achieving energy security, energy equity (affordable, accessible supply), and environmental sustainability. The International Energy Agency defines energy security as "the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price." BRICS's position reflects a widely-held Global South argument that an abrupt exit from fossil fuels, without secure and affordable alternatives, would compromise energy security and equity even as it advances sustainability.
Key Details
- The COP28 (Dubai, 2023) outcome document, the "UAE Consensus," for the first time called on parties to "transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner," while also endorsing tripling renewable capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030
- The UAE Consensus language was a compromise: "transition away from" rather than a "phase-out" of fossil fuels, reflecting exactly the security-versus-sustainability tension of the trilemma
- India's own position at global climate fora has consistently linked its energy transition pace to per-capita emissions equity and continued reliance on coal and gas for base-load security during the transition
BRICS's statement that "fossil fuels remain integral to the energy mix" echoes the COP28 "transition away from" formulation rather than a hard phase-out, and frames unilateral trade measures like CBAM as disregarding the energy-security leg of the trilemma for developing economies still dependent on fossil fuels for reliable power.
Unilateral Trade Measures and WTO Compatibility
A recurring point in BRICS's climate-trade statements is that measures like CBAM must be consistent with "international law" and multilateral trade rules rather than imposed unilaterally. Under WTO law, environmental measures affecting trade are tested against the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article XX general exceptions, which permit measures "necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health" or "relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources," subject to a strict requirement that they not be applied as "arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination" or a "disguised restriction on international trade."
Key Details
- GATT Article XX(b) and (g) are the exceptions most commonly invoked to justify environment-linked trade measures
- No WTO dispute panel has yet definitively ruled on the EU CBAM's compatibility with GATT Article XX or the Most-Favoured-Nation principle (GATT Article I), as CBAM's fully operational (definitive) regime only began January 1, 2026
- Developing countries argue CBAM effectively taxes embedded carbon without offering equivalent credit for developing countries' domestic carbon-pricing or efficiency efforts, raising discrimination concerns under WTO non-discrimination principles
By calling CBAM "not in line with international law," the BRICS declaration is pre-emptively framing the multilateral trade-law debate — whether such measures can be justified under GATT's environmental exceptions or amount to disguised protectionism — a live and still-unresolved question in international trade law.
- UNFCCC (with CBDR-RC principle) adopted: 1992, Rio Earth Summit; Paris Agreement Article 2.2 reaffirms CBDR-RC (2015)
- COP28 "UAE Consensus" (Dubai, 2023): first COP text calling for "transitioning away from fossil fuels"; also targets tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency by 2030
- IEA definition of energy security: "uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price"
- EU CBAM's definitive (fully operational) regime began January 1, 2026, after a transitional reporting-only phase (October 2023 to December 2025)
- Relevant GATT provisions: Article I (Most-Favoured-Nation), Article XX (general exceptions for health, life, and natural-resource conservation)