BRICS Environment Working Group Senior Officers Meeting in New Delhi
Under India's BRICS Chairship 2026, the Senior Officers' Meeting of the Environment Working Group and Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development was held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on August 17, 2026. The meeting was chaired by Shri Tanmay Kumar, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India.
Delegates from all BRICS member countries participated, including representatives from Federative Republic of Brazil, People's Republic of China, Arab Republic of Egypt, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Russian Federation, Republic of South Africa, and United Arab Emirates.
In his keynote address, Chair Tanmay Kumar stated that over the past two decades, BRICS has evolved from an economic dialogue into an influential platform addressing critical environmental challenges including pollution, biodiversity loss, and global warming. The partnership has broadened to encompass sustainable development, climate resilience and adaptation, resource efficiency, circular economy, and environmental governance.
India's BRICS 2026 chairship has been guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision that global cooperation must remain people-centric through a humanity-first approach, expressed through the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability'. India has advanced environmental action by integrating ecological sustainability with development objectives.
The Environment Working Group and Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development have advanced cooperation across four priority areas: Promoting Sustainable Lifestyles; Afforestation, Forest Fire Management and Disaster Resilience; Circular Economy; and Adaptation. These priorities reflect shared environmental challenges and the collective recognition that climate resilience, ecosystem restoration, resource efficiency, and sustainable development require integrated, holistic responses.
Since the commencement of India's Chairship, member countries have engaged through 21 virtual thematic and negotiation meetings, 10 bilateral consultations, 2 thematic dialogues, and 2 technical webinars. The Senior Officers' Meeting aimed to build consensus on these key priorities, culminating in the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers' Meeting scheduled for the following day in New Delhi.
Participating delegations congratulated India for its successful leadership as BRICS Chair and for bringing together members through productive deliberations conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust, and consensus-based decision making.