BRICS 2026 shows how the Global South agenda is shifting on climate, trade and development
India hosted the 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026, under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability"
The resulting New Delhi Declaration called for scaling up climate and sustainable-development financing, including grant-based and concessional adaptation finance and faster delivery of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) commitments by developed nations
BRICS raised formal objections to unilateral trade measures, specifically carbon border adjustment mechanisms, arguing such measures could restrict trade, disrupt supply chains and deepen economic disparities
The summit endorsed the BRICS Global Value Chain (GVC) Action Plan 2026-2030, aimed at greater participation of emerging economies in higher-value manufacturing, along with cooperation on clean technology (solar, electric vehicles), low-emissions hydrogen and critical minerals supply chains
BRICS — Institutional Evolution and Membership
BRICS began as an informal grouping (BRIC — Brazil, Russia, India, China) identified in a 2001 Goldman Sachs paper; South Africa joined in 2010, making it BRICS. It formalised into a structured intergovernmental forum with annual summits (first summit: 2009, Yekaterinburg, Russia). The bloc has since undergone its largest expansion in 2024-25.
Key Details
- 2024 Kazan Summit (Russia): Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE admitted as full members
- January 2025: Indonesia became the 10th full member, the first Southeast Asian nation in BRICS
- Partner-country category created in 2024, including Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and (from January 2025) Nigeria
- BRICS decisions operate by consensus; there is no permanent secretariat, with the chairmanship rotating annually among members
The 2026 New Delhi Summit was the first hosted by India since this major expansion, making the "Global South agenda" framing significant — the enlarged bloc now represents a much larger share of global population and GDP than the original BRIC/BRICS five.
New Development Bank (NDB) and BRICS Financial Architecture
The New Development Bank was established by BRICS as an alternative multilateral lender to the World Bank/IMF system, headquartered in Shanghai. It funds infrastructure and sustainable-development projects in member and partner countries.
The New Delhi Declaration's call to accelerate climate finance delivery sits alongside BRICS' own institutional finance track — the NDB is positioned by the bloc as a Global South-led complement to the UNFCCC's NCQG process for channeling development and climate funds.
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms and CBDR-RC
BRICS' objection to carbon border adjustment mechanisms (principally the EU's CBAM) reflects a long-standing Global South position rooted in the UNFCCC principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC — UNFCCC Article 3.1), which holds that developed countries, having contributed most to historical emissions, bear greater responsibility for climate action.
Key Details
- EU CBAM entered its definitive phase on 1 January 2026; it requires importers to purchase certificates covering the gap between the EU's carbon price and the exporting country's domestic carbon price
- CBAM currently covers six sectors: cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen, with expansion to more sectors proposed from 2028
- India, along with other major exporters in CBAM-covered sectors, has argued the mechanism functions as a unilateral trade barrier that shifts climate costs onto developing-country exporters without corresponding technology transfer or finance
- India has raised CBAM concerns at the WTO as a potential violation of CBDR-RC and non-discrimination principles
BRICS' New Delhi Declaration formalised the Global South's shared objection to CBAM-style measures as one bloc, linking trade policy directly to the climate-finance and equity debate that also produced the NCQG.
New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance
The NCQG, adopted at COP29 (Baku, November 2026 cycle reference: agreed November 2026), is the successor to the earlier $100-billion-a-year climate finance goal and sets new global targets for climate finance to developing countries.
The New Delhi Declaration's demand to "accelerate NCQG commitments" is a direct reference to this COP29 outcome, with BRICS using its collective weight to press developed nations on delivery timelines.
- 18th BRICS Summit: New Delhi, 12-13 September 2026
- BRICS full members (post-expansion): 10 — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Indonesia
- NCQG core target: $300 billion/year by 2035 (developed-country led); broader goal: $1.3 trillion/year by 2035
- CBAM definitive phase began: 1 January 2026
- CBAM sectors: cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen
- NDB established: 2014 (Fortaleza Declaration); headquartered in Shanghai
- BRICS GVC Action Plan timeframe: 2026-2030