BRICS backs carbon market cooperation while opposing unilateral CBAM
The BRICS countries have backed greater cooperation on carbon markets, including implementation of a BRICS Carbon Markets Partnership, while opposing unilateral carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs).
This follows India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) gaining recognition under the United Kingdom’s emerging border carbon regime.
The New Delhi Declaration, adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit, on September 12, said BRICS countries support cooperation in carbon markets with a focus on capacity building and exchange of experiences. It also said members looked forward to implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on the BRICS Carbon Markets Partnership as a cooperative approach to support national climate strategies, complement mitigation efforts and mobilise resources.
The declaration also welcomed knowledge sharing through a dialogue on aligning carbon markets with adaptation goals, bringing adaptation and climate finance into discussions that have traditionally focused on emissions reduction and carbon pricing.
The development comes as the UK prepares to introduce its CBAM from January 1, 2027, while the European Union’s definitive CBAM regime began on January 1, 2026, covering imports including cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. The UK government has published a list of qualifying overseas carbon pricing schemes to help importers prepare for the mechanism. India’s CCTS is included in that list, allowing qualifying carbon prices paid in India to be taken into account when calculating UK CBAM liability, subject to the UK’s requirements on evidence and verification.
BRICS opposes unilateral border measures
On trade, the bloc has reiterated its objection to climate linked trade measures, expressing opposition to unilateral, punitive, discriminatory and protectionist measures, explicitly naming CBAMs.
“We oppose unilateral, punitive, discriminatory and protectionist measures” that are not in line with international law, the New Delhi Declaration said, specifically citing CBAM. It said such measures could undermine developing countries’ efforts to address climate change and increase their adaptive capacity and resilience.
BRICS has consistently raised concerns over unilateral climate related trade measures, arguing that they could create additional trade barriers and impose disproportionate costs on developing countries.
“The opposition to unilateral climate-linked trade measures must be seen alongside the call for a broader and equitable cooperation between developing countries in global higher value manufacturing,” said Trishant Dev, deputy programme manager at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
According to Li Shuo, director, China Climate Hub, Asia Society Policy Institute, “The bloc’s explicit rejection of carbon border taxes, alongside its insistence that fossil fuels will remain part of the energy mix for emerging economies, signals that these leading Global South countries intend to define the terms of their own energy transition rather than have them imposed by others.”