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Time of India
07-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
BRICS demand wealthy nations fund global climate transition
Leaders of the BRICS group of developing nations prepared to address the shared challenges of climate change on Monday, the final day of their summit in Rio de Janeiro, demanding that wealthy nations fund global mitigation of greenhouse emissions. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has touted the importance of the Global South in tackling global warming as he prepares to host the United Nations climate summit in November. Still, a joint statement from BRICS leaders released on Sunday argued that fossil fuels will continue to play an important role in the global energy mix, particularly in developing economies. "We live in a moment of many contradictions in the whole world. The important thing is that we are willing to overcome these contradictions," Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva said on the sidelines of the summit, when asked about the plans to extract oil off the coast of the Amazon rainforest. In their joint statement, BRICS leaders underscored that providing climate finance "is a responsibility of developed countries towards developing countries," which is the standard position for emerging economies in global negotiations. Live Events Their declaration also mentioned the group's support for a fund that Brazil proposed to protect endangered forests - the Tropical Forests Forever Facility - as a way for emerging economies to fund climate change mitigation beyond the mandatory requirements imposed on wealthy nations by the 2015 Paris Agreement. China and the UAE signaled in meetings with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Rio that they plan to invest in the fund, two sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters last week. The joint statement from BRICS leaders also blasted policies such as carbon border taxes and anti-deforestation laws, which Europe has recently adopted, for imposing what they called "discriminatory protectionist measures" under the pretext of environmental concerns. DEFENDING MULTILATERAL DIPLOMACY The opening of the BRICS summit on Sunday presented the bloc as a bastion of multilateral diplomacy in a fractured world and underscored the influence of 11 member nations that represent 40% of global output. Leaders also indirectly criticized U.S. military and trade policy, while pushing for the reform of multilateral institutions now largely run by Americans and Europeans. In his opening remarks at the meeting on Sunday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew a parallel with the Cold War's Non-Aligned Movement, a group of developing nations that resisted joining either side of a polarized global order. "BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement," Lula told leaders. "With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in check once again." The Rio summit, the first to include Indonesia as a member, has showcased the rapid expansion of BRICS but raised questions about shared goals within its diverse group. In a joint statement published on Sunday, the BRICS condemned military attacks on Iran and Gaza, but stopped short of a unified position on which countries should have seats on a reformed United Nations Security Council. Only China and Russia supported adding Brazil and India to the council. Leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa gathered in Rio to discuss economic and geopolitical tensions. But the meeting's political weight was diminished by Chinese President Xi Jinping's decision to send Premier Li Qiang in his place. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Reuters
07-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
BRICS demand wealthy nations fund global climate transition
RIO DE JANEIRO, July 7 (Reuters) - Leaders of the BRICS group of developing nations prepared to address the shared challenges of climate change on Monday, the final day of their summit in Rio de Janeiro, demanding that wealthy nations fund global mitigation of greenhouse emissions. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has touted the importance of the Global South in tackling global warming as he prepares to host the United Nations climate summit in November. Still, a joint statement from BRICS leaders released on Sunday argued that fossil fuels will continue to play an important role in the global energy mix, particularly in developing economies. "We live in a moment of many contradictions in the whole world. The important thing is that we are willing to overcome these contradictions," Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva said on the sidelines of the summit, when asked about the plans to extract oil off the coast of the Amazon rainforest. In their joint statement, BRICS leaders underscored that providing climate finance "is a responsibility of developed countries towards developing countries," which is the standard position for emerging economies in global negotiations. Their declaration also mentioned the group's support for a fund that Brazil proposed to protect endangered forests - the Tropical Forests Forever Facility - as a way for emerging economies to fund climate change mitigation beyond the mandatory requirements imposed on wealthy nations by the 2015 Paris Agreement. China and the UAE signaled in meetings with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Rio that they plan to invest in the fund, two sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters last week. The joint statement from BRICS leaders also blasted policies such as carbon border taxes and anti-deforestation laws, which Europe has recently adopted, for imposing what they called "discriminatory protectionist measures" under the pretext of environmental concerns. The opening of the BRICS summit on Sunday presented the bloc as a bastion of multilateral diplomacy in a fractured world and underscored the influence of 11 member nations that represent 40% of global output. Leaders also indirectly criticized U.S. military and trade policy, while pushing for the reform of multilateral institutions now largely run by Americans and Europeans. In his opening remarks at the meeting on Sunday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew a parallel with the Cold War's Non-Aligned Movement, a group of developing nations that resisted joining either side of a polarized global order. "BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement," Lula told leaders. "With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in check once again." The Rio summit, the first to include Indonesia as a member, has showcased the rapid expansion of BRICS but raised questions about shared goals within its diverse group. In a joint statement published on Sunday, the BRICS condemned military attacks on Iran and Gaza, but stopped short of a unified position on which countries should have seats on a reformed United Nations Security Council. Only China and Russia supported adding Brazil and India to the council. Leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa gathered in Rio to discuss economic and geopolitical tensions. But the meeting's political weight was diminished by Chinese President Xi Jinping's decision to send Premier Li Qiang in his place.
Sky News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Brazil calls out world 'preoccupied' by defence, as it prepares to host global climate summit COP30
Brazilian officials have rebuked the push to increase defence spending, as it tries to bring countries together for negotiations on tackling climate change later in the year. Last year's COP climate conference ended in disappointment after failing to cough up anything like enough money to help countries cope with already rising sea levels, heavier floods and harsher droughts, which are forcing people to migrate. But this week NATO member states broadly agreed to a US demand to boost defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product. Leaders are anxious about military threats from Russia and terrorism, while the number of global conflicts and people killed in them have been rising since the 2000s. Brazil's climate minister Marina Silva, in London to drum up support before Brazil hosts COP30 in November, admitted countries are somewhat "preoccupied". 1:59 "We have been discussing for so many years, the $100bn, the $300bn, and then now the $1.3 trillion targets that we need [for climate funding]," she told a news conference on Thursday. And then "very swiftly, there is an announcement of the increase of 5% in the expenditure in defence" when that money "ought to be going in the other direction", she said via a translator. The money should be used not to fight wars but for "fighting hunger [and] the climate emergency", she added. The UK in February raided its foreign aid budget to boost defence spending, prompting warnings it will struggle to keep its £11.6bn climate aid promise. Her comments echo those of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who last week told G7 leaders: "Year after year, wars and conflicts accumulate. "Military spending annually consumes the equivalent to Italy's GDP. "This corresponds to $2.7 trillion that could be invested in hunger eradication and the just transition." In Ukraine, "only dialogue between the parties can lead to a ceasefire and pave the way for lasting peace", he said. The fears about the world becoming more dangerous and fractured are set to make beleaguered climate talks even more challenging. Governments are already failing to ditch fossil fuels and are grappling with a surge in power demand, driven by things like AI datacentres and air conditioning. That means emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise when they should be plummeting - though the rise appears to be tapering off. However minister Silva did say despite the "geopolitical context", her team had encountered "a lot of the support and solidarity and commitment" to climate negotiations. She also vowed this year's COP would be "different from the preceding ones", with a focus on implementing pledges. They also met with King Charles and Prince William while they were in the capital for London Climate Action Week.
The Independent
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
King hailed as nature ‘leader' at event to drive private money into biodiversity
The King shook hands with a 'gorilla' and was made a 'care-holder' of an area of pristine Pacific ocean as he attended an event on driving finance into nature protection. Ministers, indigenous leaders and businesses and investors representing £12.2 trillion in finance gathered at the conference convened by the UK Government at Lancaster House in London to discuss how to drive private money into restoring and conserving nature and natural services. Charles has long been an advocate for investing in nature, with leading environmentalist and head of Natural England Tony Juniper describing him as 'being right about these issues 20 years' before anyone else. At a reception after the meeting the King watched a performance by public art and climate initiative The Herds featuring life-sized puppets of African animals including a zebra, lioness and a gorilla, which Charles shook hands with. He also discussed the urgency of saving the forests with Brazilian environment and climate minister Marina Silva, who showed him a picture of a tree he had planted 35 years ago, which is now a towering specimen, as he remarked 'I have green fingers'. Charles was presented with gifts by Mona Ainu'u, minister of natural resources of the Pacific island of Niue, including honey and a certificate showing he had been made a 'care-holder' of one square kilometre of the island's Moana Mahu marine protected area, as a gift from the country. The scheme is part of an innovative financing mechanism called 'ocean conservation commitments' in which donors can sponsor the conservation of one square kilometre of the reserve, a vast area half the size of the UK and home to coral reefs, undersea mountains, sharks, whales, dolphins and rays. The payments of around £110 aim to protect each piece of the marine protected area for a period of 20 years, with the proceeds used to fund conservation, resilience and sustainable development. Mr Juniper said the King had been making the case for 'natural capital' – valuing and investing in the world's natural resources such as forests, fish and water to benefit humans – for decades, adding 'I think he might even have invented the idea quite a long time ago'. He said: 'He has a particular credibility as a leader in this subject, and hopefully him being here today will really send a signal to everybody that this is a serious proposition, this idea that we need to invest in nature to be able to get returns.' Mr Juniper added: 'He's always been right about these issues, 20 years before everyone really understood it was a serious thing that we were dealing with, and so him being here today, hopefully, sends a signal that there's something real going on here that people need to attend to.' Mr Juniper warned there was a 'huge job' ahead in recovering nature globally but also in England and it would require private finance. 'With England being one of the most nature depleted countries on Earth, you know, the job is particularly acute and urgent,' he said. 'We have some positive government policy that's come through during recent years, but we're going to need to augment that with private investment to be able to get to where we need to go.' Mr Juniper pointed to nascent markets in 'biodiversity net gain', where developers have to pay to boost nature when carrying out housing or other projects. And he said there was a need to drive private finance into areas such as fresh water and flood water, where utilities or insurance companies fund nature restoration, or nature-based solutions to reduce the cost of cleaning up water or paying for flood damage. Speaking at the event, Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: 'Nature underpins everything. Without it there is no economy, no food, no health and ultimately no society. 'With this Government, Britain stands ready to lead on climate and nature. 'The UK is playing our part to protect nature at home and abroad. We will work with other nations around the world who commit to do the same.' The event was attended by environment ministers and representatives of businesses, banks and investors such as GSK, Aviva, Lloyds, BlackRock and State Street, as well as conservation and ecology experts and indigenous and community representatives. Those taking part in roundtable discussions described how regenerative agriculture and agroforestry was already investable, but the financial sector needed to understand the importance of the oceans, the need for integrity and regulation of markets and working with indigenous people. Speaking after the event, UK Government Special Representative for Nature Ruth Davis said it was 'full of investors and businesses for whom the penny has dropped that if they don't look after nature, natural capital, soils, water, biodiversity, they are literally going to lose the basis upon which their existing businesses are founded'. She said the meeting would help scale up action to drive investment in natural capital.
Euronews
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Brazil and France launch push to put oceans at heart of climate plans
Brazil and France have just launched a new challenge to countries to put oceans at the centre of climate action. On Monday, at the UN Ocean Conference, the two countries called on all nations to place ocean-focused action at the heart of their national climate plans - also known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs - ahead of the UN climate summit COP30 it is hosting in November. Alongside Brazil and France, an inaugural group of eight countries, including Australia, Fiji, Kenya, Mexico, Palau, and the Republic of Seychelles, has joined the initiative. 'For Brazil, the Blue NDC Challenge represents a key opportunity to strengthen ocean-related climate action and to emphasise the essential role of ocean-based solutions in achieving emission reduction targets,' says Marina Silva, Brazil's Minister for the Environment and Climate Change. 'Through this initiative, Brazil seeks to advance international cooperation on ocean climate action in the lead-up to COP30, and to underscore the need for all countries to fully integrate the ocean into their national climate strategies.' Silva added that in its most recently submitted NDC, Brazil had explicitly included ocean-based climate actions for the first time. That includes commitments like establishing programmes for the conservation and restoration of vital marine ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs. 40 per cent of Brazil's territory is located at sea, and it hosts marine ecosystems of global significance - including the only coral reefs in the South Atlantic and the world's largest contiguous mangrove belt along the Amazon coast. NDCs are the centrepiece of countries' efforts to reduce emissions and limit warming to 1.5°C under the Paris Agreement. Countries remain largely off track for meeting the Paris goals, according to the most recent UN emissions gap report, with the next round of climate pledges needing to deliver a 'quantum leap in ambition' to give the world a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Nations were due to submit updated plans in February, but only 11 of the 195 Paris Agreement signatories made the formal deadline. As of early June, just 22 countries have so far delivered their enhanced NDCs. Brazil is one of only five G20 countries that have submitted updated plans alongside the US under the Biden administration, the UK, Japan and Canada. The real deadline is now September, when the plans will be tallied up before COP30. As the world prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement this year, the Blue NDC challenge is aimed at highlighting the role oceans can play in enhancing these plans. 'Ocean-based climate solutions can deliver up to 35 per cent of the emissions reductions needed to keep 1.5°C within reach,' says Tom Pickerell, global director of the ocean programme at the World Resources Institute and Head of the Secretariat for the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. 'But we are running out of time to maximise the ocean's potential. That's why countries must place the ocean at the heart of their climate strategies.' Industrial marine sectors and natural ecosystems are 'underused tools' in addressing climate change, Wavel Ramkalawan, President of the Republic of Seychelles, one of the eight inaugural countries that joined the initiative, added.
