BRICS senior officials discuss key environmental priorities in New Delhi
- IBEF
- August 18, 2026
Senior officials from BRICS member countries discussed key environmental priorities, climate change and sustainable development at a meeting held in New Delhi under India’s BRICS Chairship 2026. The Senior Officers’ Meeting of the BRICS Environment Working Group and the Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development was chaired by Tanmay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Officials from Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates participated in the meeting. Discussions focused on the evolving role of BRICS in addressing global environmental challenges, including pollution, biodiversity loss and global warming. The cooperation agenda has expanded to areas such as sustainable development, climate resilience and adaptation, resource efficiency, circular economy and environmental governance. India’s BRICS Chairship is guided by the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability”, with an emphasis on people-centric global cooperation and a humanity-first approach.
During India’s Chairship, the Environment Working Group and the Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development have advanced cooperation across four priority areas: promoting sustainable lifestyles; afforestation, forest fire management and disaster resilience; circular economy; and adaptation. These areas reflect common environmental challenges faced by BRICS countries and the need for coordinated approaches to climate resilience, ecosystem restoration, resource efficiency and sustainable development. 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. The deliberations are expected to contribute to consensus on key environmental priorities ahead of the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting, scheduled to be held in New Delhi. Participating delegations also appreciated India’s leadership and the discussions held through mutual respect, trust and consensus-based decision-making.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
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