What the BRICS Carbon Market Partnership Needs

“The first output of the partnership should be a common framework for measurement, reporting and verification” | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

On 12 September at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, the New Delhi Declaration affirmed that BRICS members look forward to the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on the BRICS Carbon Markets Partnership. The commitment remains modest: to build capacity and share experiences, without a business framework, goals or timeline. The Rio summit recognized the memorandum in 2025 and Delhi reiterated it. As India’s BRICS chairmanship enters its final quarter, making the partnership work requires not so much a common business platform as a common set of rules.

Eight BRICS members reportedly operate voluntary markets, and Brazil, China, India and Indonesia host more than a third of the carbon credit projects registered worldwide. Compliance systems are also maturing. China’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) – added steel, cement and aluminum through its 2024-25 allocation plan. India’s Carbon Credit Trading System (CCTS) announced emission intensity targets for 490 entities across nine sectors and opened an offset mechanism. The Brazilian Law of 2024 establishes the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (SBCE), a cap-and-trade system. However, none of these markets are connected to another.

Published – 05 Nov 2026 0:08 IST