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Leaders of 10 emerging and developing economies met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 6-7, 2025 for the 17th annual meeting of the BRICS countries.
Opening the summit, Brazilian President Lula da Silva described a world facing a crisis of multilateralism, multiple conflicts and risks to the climate and global trade systems. Calling BRICS an ‘heir of the Non-Aligned Movement,’ Lula warned against attacks on the group’s autonomy. He also pointed out that the world has enough resources to meet its development needs, but too much of it is still going into funding wars instead.
The two-day summit concluded with a joint declaration that spans a wide range of issues, from instability in the Middle East to climate change, trade, energy security, artificial intelligence and even on the peaceful use of outer space.
The bloc condemned the escalating conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, reaffirming support for a two-state solution, and denounced military strikes on one of its member countries, Iran, including attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities, as violations of international law.
The meeting flagged rising concerns over unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures, including protectionist actions disguised as environmental measures, such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAM), deforestation regulations and due diligence requirements.
This came as United States President Donald Trump threatened countries with a 10 per cent additional tariff if they chose to align themselves with the ‘anti-American policies’ of BRICS countries, through posts on social media.
BRICS leaders hit back, with Brazil’s President Lula stating that the world ‘doesn’t want an emperor’ and urging countries to build trade ties beyond the dollar system. Other BRICS members also spoke against the threat of unilateral tariffs.
Brazil’s BRICS presidency comes as the country prepares to host the 30th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) in November 2025. Yet, the BRICS declaration offers little substance on how Brazil plans to secure a constructive outcome at COP30, especially after the failures in Baku, nor does the declaration address the deeper crisis facing multilateral climate diplomacy.
While pointing up the need for energy security, the group claimed the role of fossil fuels for emerging and developing countries to be important, while mentioning the need to promote a just, orderly, equitable and inclusive energy transition.
The forum adopted the ‘Leader’s Framework Declaration on Climate Finance’, wherein member countries positioned themselves as leading a ‘global mobilisation’ for a fairer financial system that can support stronger climate action.
The bloc stressed that developed countries must step up with more grant-based, concessional finance, separate from existing aid, to help developing nations meet their climate goals without sacrificing poverty reduction and development priorities. They underscored that nationally determined transition pathways are crucial, but their effectiveness will depend on developed countries meeting their climate obligations.
The declaration covers the need for reforming the international financial architecture, especially the Bretton Wood Institutions (comprising the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund), increasing the flow of public resources to developing countries, and agrees on a framework for ‘Enhancing Financing for Climation Action’.
As part of its push to strengthen financial cooperation, the bloc has proposed piloting the BRICS Multilateral Guarantee (BMG) within its New Development Bank to de-risk investments in member countries and align financial flows with climate and development goals.
The declaration asks countries to contribute to the The Tropical Forest Forever Facility, a proposed multilateral investment fund due to be launched in Belem, viewing it to be a promising instrument for blended finance for the long-term financing of forest conservation.
The importance of this summit is seen in the group’s rising relevance amid a crumbling Western order, where the traditional centres of economic and geopolitical power are facing a crisis of legitimacy.
As advanced economies come to terms with declining industrial competitiveness, increasingly transactional American diplomacy, rising conflicts, and deepening political fragmentation, the bloc is positioning itself as a counterweight to Western-led structures, pushing for fairer terms in global trade, advocating for the reform of multilateral institutions, and expanding South-South cooperation.
There is a growing opportunity, and some early signs, that BRICS countries are beginning to frame green industrial policy as central to economic and security development, and not just for climate goals, using it to push for energy security, job creation and reduced dependence on Western-controlled supply chains.
Given the Trump presidency’s increasingly adversarial stance towards BRICS, India, as the incoming chair for 2026, will face the challenge of aligning its trade, economic and security interests with the bloc, and especially with China, even as it manages its ties with the US, rallies diplomatic support against cross-border terrorism, while also preparing to present its candidature for hosting COP33 in 2028.