As India prepares to host the 18th BRICS Summit, climate action has been made central and New Delhi aims to foreground Global South priorities on energy transition, resilience, critical minerals and climate finance. BRICS (the grouping of emerging and developing economies) lists sustainability among its priorities, emphasising green finance and technology cooperation. The agenda reflects the tension between development needs and climate risk.

The BRICS climate discussion extends beyond emissions to affordable energy, adaptation, resilient supply chains and access to concessional finance. The grouping now includes 11 countries and 10 partner countries and is exploring how collective economic weight can advance developing-country interests. Officials stress measures that respect national circumstances.

At the 11th BRICS Energy Ministers' Meeting in Gurugram delegates launched a Digital Centre of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage and reaffirmed respect for national development pathways. The energy track spans renewables, hydrogen, carbon management and efficiency while seeking diversified and secure sources. Energy security remains closely linked to industrialisation.

Critical minerals have gained prominence as inputs for vehicles, batteries and renewable systems, and the Rio de Janeiro Declaration recognised their role for low-emission technologies and energy security. It called for reliable, diversified and fair supply chains and stressed value addition and sovereign rights. Developing countries seek greater capture of processing and manufacturing value.

Adaptation was emphasised at the Environment Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi, which adopted a Joint Ministerial Statement and launched four knowledge compendiums to support prevention, early warning and recovery. Finance, technology and action were linked as decisive, with observers citing United States dollar (USD) 1.3 tn by 2035 as an ambition for developing-country climate finance. The summit will be judged on whether commitments yield affordable finance, technology transfer and practical cooperation on the ground.