Noting that India’s BRICS presidency next year will have a “humanity first” approach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that developed nations have a special responsibility in bridging the gap between climate ambition and financing.
In an address at the BRICS summit, PM Modi said India will work to redefine BRICS in a new form, which will be “Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability’.
“Just as, during our chairmanship, we gave breadth to the G-20, gave priority to the issues of the Global South in the agenda, similarly, during our chairmanship of BRICS, we will take this forum forward in the spirit of people-centricity and humanity first,” he said.
PM Modi was speaking at a session on ‘Environment, COP-30 and Global Health’.
“For India, climate justice is not an option, but a moral duty. India believes that without technology transfer and affordable financing to countries in need, climate action will remain confined to climate talks,” he said.
Modi argued that developed countries have a special and important responsibility in bridging the gap between climate ambition and financing.
“We have to take along all those countries which are facing food, fuel, fertilizer and financial crises due to various stresses.”
“The confidence that developed countries have about the future, the same self-confidence should be there in these countries as well. With any kind of double standards, sustainable and inclusive development of humanity is not possible,” he added. Modi said India will continue to cooperate closely on all subjects under its BRICS presidency.
The top leaders of BRICS held deliberations on a range of pressing challenges facing the globe at the grouping’s two-day annual summit in this seaside Brazilian city.
In his remarks, the PM also elaborated on New Delhi’s approach towards dealing with climate change. “Despite being the fastest growing major economy in the world, India is the first country to complete Paris Commitments ahead of time. We are also moving rapidly towards the goal of Net Zero by 2070,” the PM said. “In the last 10 years, the installed capacity of solar energy in India has increased by 4,000 per cent.”
For India, climate change and environmental security have always been high-priority topics, PM Modi noted.
“For us, climate change is not just a matter of energy. It is a matter of balance between life and nature. While some people measure it in numbers, India lives it in rituals.”
“In Indian civilisation and culture, the earth has been given the status of mother. That is why when mother earth calls, we do not remain silent. We change our thinking, our behaviour and our lifestyle,” he added.
The PM, recalling India’s G20 presidency, said New Delhi emphasised on sustainable development and reducing the gap between North-South.
“For this purpose, we agreed on Green Development Pact with all the countries,” he said.
The BRICS bloc’s 31-page declaration mentioned Ukraine just once, while condemning “in the strongest terms” recent Ukrainian attacks on Russia.
“We recall our national positions concerning the conflict in Ukraine as expressed in the appropriate fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly,” the group said. It also condemned the increase of tariffs and attacks on Iran, but refrained from naming US President Donald Trump.
The two-day summit was marked by the absences of two of its most powerful members. China’s President Xi Jinping did not attend a BRICS summit for the first time since he became his country’s leader in 2012. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke via videoconference, continues to mostly avoid traveling abroad due to an international arrest warrant issued after Russia invaded Ukraine.
In an indirect swipe at the US, the group’s declaration raised “serious concerns” about the rise of tariffs which it said were “inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules.” Adding that such restrictions “threaten to reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was expected to attend the summit before the attacks on his country in June, sent his foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to the meeting . In his speech, Araghchi told leaders he had pushed for every member of the UN to condemn Israel strongly. He added Israel and the US should be held accountable for human rights violations. The Iranian foreign minister said the aftermath of the war “will not be limited” to one country. “The entire region and beyond will be damaged,” he added.
BRICS leaders also expressed “grave concern” for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, called for the release of all hostages, a return to the negotiating table and reaffirmed their commitment to the two-state solution. Later, Araghchi said in a separate statement on messaging app Telegram that his Government had expressed its reservation regarding a two-state solution in a note, saying it will not work “just as it has not worked in the past.” Also on Telegram, Russia’s foreign ministry in another statement named the US. And Israel, and condemned the “unprovoked military strikes” against Iran.