The onset of BRICS cooperation on climate change: material change, ideational convergence and the road to Copenhagen 2009

Abstract

What explains the convergence among Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) on climate change? While Brazil, India, China and South Africa caught attention due to their economic dynamism in the 1990s and accelerating momentum as of the early 2000s, Russia progressed to increase its influence in the twenty-first century. This shift in the material capabilities of BRICS has increased their significance in global climate governance. Merging governmentality and social constructivist approaches, this article argues that material changes in the post-Cold War period led Brazil, India, China and South Africa to experience a change in their ideational framework, repositioning themselves at the international level, recognising new responsibilities, and reaching a common point on the road to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in 2009. Therefore, they went through a convergence process, bringing them closer to Russia, whose position invited major developing states to take tangible actions for emissions reduction. This process of convergence marked the onset of the future BRICS partnership on climate change.

Keywords:

• BRICS
• climate change
• material change
• ideational reorientation
• policy convergence

Acknowledgements

We thank the editorial board of Third World Quarterly and the anonymous referees for their comments on earlier drafts of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Göktuğ Kıprızlı

Göktuğ Kıprızlı received his PhD in international relations from Bilkent University in 2022. Presently, he is Assistant Profressor in the Department of International Relations at Karadeniz Technical University.

Seçkin Köstem

Seçkin Köstem is Assistant Professor of international relations at Bilkent University. His research focuses on regional and rising powers, Eurasia in the global political economy, and Russian and Turkish foreign economic policies.