New Delhi: Senior officials from BRICS member countries met in New Delhi on Monday to advance cooperation on key environmental and climate priorities under India’s BRICS Chairship 2026, with discussions focusing on sustainable lifestyles, forest management, circular economy, climate resilience and adaptation.
The Senior Officers’ Meeting of the Environment Working Group (EWG) and Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development (CGCCSD) was held at Bharat Mandapam and chaired by Tanmay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
Delegations from Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates participated in the meeting.
Four Priorities Drive BRICS Environmental Cooperation
Under India’s chairship, the two BRICS groups have worked together across four interconnected priority areas:
- Promoting sustainable lifestyles
- Afforestation, forest fire management and disaster resilience
- Circular economy
- Climate adaptation
The discussions highlighted the interconnected nature of climate resilience, ecosystem restoration, resource efficiency and sustainable development, with participating countries stressing the need for integrated approaches rather than isolated action.
India Highlights ‘Humanity-First’ Approach
In his keynote address, Tanmay Kumar (IAS: 1993: Rajasthan) said BRICS has evolved over the past two decades from an economic dialogue into an increasingly influential platform for addressing global environmental challenges, including pollution, biodiversity loss and global warming.
He noted that India’s 2026 chairship has been guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of people-centric global cooperation and a humanity-first approach.
The chairship theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability,” seeks to integrate environmental sustainability with development objectives.
21 Virtual Meetings, 10 Bilateral Consultations Held
The scale of engagement during India’s chairship was also highlighted during the meeting.
Since the beginning of India’s BRICS Chairship, member countries have participated in:
- 21 virtual thematic and negotiation meetings
- 10 bilateral consultations
- 2 thematic dialogues
- 2 technical webinars
The deliberations are aimed at building consensus among BRICS members on key environmental and climate priorities.
BRICS Environment Ministers to Meet in Delhi
The Senior Officers’ Meeting comes a day ahead of the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on August 18.
The participating delegations congratulated India for its leadership of the BRICS environmental agenda and its efforts to facilitate discussions through consensus-based decision-making.
The ongoing cooperation is expected to strengthen the BRICS countries’ collective response to challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, forest degradation, pollution and resource inefficiency, while supporting sustainable development and climate resilience.
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