BRICS Partnership on Carbon Markets to become fully operational in 2025

The BRICS Carbon Markets Partnership will become fully operational in 2025. This was announced by Nikita Kondratyev, Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development.

"On the one hand, the BRICS countries are the largest emitters, on the other —the largest producers of low-carbon technologies. And due to this, the balance of the carbon market can be maintained, among other things. And to solve this problem, to discuss the further modality of functioning of carbon markets in 2024, we launched a partnership on carbon markets within the framework of the Russian presidency of #BRICS. And this year it is already starting its full-fledged work," Kondratiev said.

He noted that Russia sees great attention from partner countries, including BRICS, to the implementation of climate projects and trade in carbon units. According to him, BRICS is currently a unique combination of countries, some of which have significant potential for the implementation of climate projects, while others may be interested in buying carbon units to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

#NEWS #climate

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📖 Word of the Week: BRICS Network University

BRICS Network University is a consortium of higher education institutions from the BRICS nations. This unique initiative is focused on developing, testing, and implementing a model of educational collaboration through a variety of bilateral and multilateral short-term joint programmes, master's and doctoral programmes, as well as collaborative research projects across diverse fields.

🌐NU Establishment

This year, BRICS NU celebrates its 10th anniversary. The Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of the BRICS Network University was crafted by a dedicated working group during Russia's Chairship in #BRICS and was signed in November 2015.

🔥Key Fields of Study

➖Energy
➖Computer science and information security
➖BRICS studies
➖Ecology and climate change
➖Water resources and pollution neutralisation
➖Economics

During the meeting of the BRICS NU International Governing Board on May 16, 2024, the list of training areas was enriched with five new categories:

➖Sustainable agriculture and food security
➖Mathematics
➖Natural sciences
➖Social sciences and humanities
➖Health sciences

#BRICSExpertCouncil #BRICSExpertCouncilRussia #wordoftheweek

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Cuba and its opportunities with the status of partner in BRICS

Cuba's status as a partner state in the BRICS and an observer state in the EAEU opens up new opportunities for this country for mutually beneficial cooperation with the members of these groups, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko said.

"It seems to me that both #BRICS and #EAEC open for Cuba new opportunities for more favourable, mutually beneficial economic cooperation with the member countries of these groups," Matvienko said during a meeting with the President of the National Assembly of the People's Power of Cuba, Esteban Lazo Hernandez.

Valentina Matvienko recalled that not only Russia actively supported Cuba's accession to BRICS as a partner state, but also the other member states.

#NEWS #Cuba

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In touch with BRICS: news digest

Your quick rundown of the most important BRICS updates

✔Pakistan still interested in joining BRICS

✔China ready to work with BRICS countries to defend multilateral trade

✔BRICS not working against other countries

✔BRICS is not the biggest threat to the US dollar

✔The Russian Federation and Sustainable Development: Overview of Achievements and Initiatives by Regions, Business, and Civil Society

✔Belarus’ participation in SCO, BRICS is a powerful diplomacy tool

✔BRICS Partnership on Carbon Markets to become fully operational in 2025

✔Cuba and its opportunities with the status of partner in #BRICS

#BRICSExpertCouncilDIGEST

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Russia ready to expand ties with Global South

Russia is ready to boost cooperation with countries of the Global South to counter illegal sanctions pressure, official Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said.

"We believe nothing can be done with the natural course of history by any tariff wars and sanctions. We have plenty of partners, co-thinkers, and allies sharing this approach, among countries of the Global South and #BRICS in the first instance," the diplomat stressed.

She also added that Russia is ready to ramp up cooperation with these countries to counter the unlawful unilateral sanction pressure and shape a genuinely multilateral, fair, and equal world order.

#NEWS #diplomacy

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Malaysia secured nearly $22.45 billion in investments from BRICS countries

In 2024, the trade volume between Malaysia and the BRICS nations reached 818 billion ringgit (approximately 15.41 trillion roubles), accounting for 35.2 percent of the nation’s overall global trade.

During this same period, investments from the BRICS countries totalled 104.9 billion ringgit (around 1.98 trillion roubles). The Ministry highlighted that Malaysia's status as a BRICS partner facilitates its entry into major international markets and helps attract additional capital.

"Although Malaysia is not yet a full member of BRICS, we are already reaping the benefits of our economic ties with these nations, as many of them serve as key trading partners and sustainable sources of foreign investment," Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim remarked.

Earlier, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the country's dedication to the core values that underpin BRICS activities. He also participated in the XVII BRICS Summit, which took place on July 6–7, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro.

#NEWS #Malaysia #trade

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🇧🇷 Brazil DEFIES US dollar dominance

President Lula da Silva says global trade must be free — without Washington’s currency stranglehold. What's driving him?

Tectonic shift in world order

🟠 "President Lula will no longer accept unequal terms of trade and US intervention because the very nature of the international system has irreversibly changed," Dr Anuradha Chenoy, retired professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, tells Sputnik.

🟠 The US has imposed tariffs and pressured Brazil’s Supreme Court to drop cases against ex-President Jair Bolsonaro — Trump’s ally who refused to concede defeat.

🟠 Many Brazilians see it as interference and a threat to sovereignty.

BRICS shield against US hegemony

Brazil has BRICS partners to lean on.

✅ In July 2025, China — bolstered by its economic resilience — signed key cooperation deals with Brazil, covering everything from infrastructure to strategic development.

✅ Brazil-US trade totals around $92 billion, but BRICS trade is far larger. Brazil exports around $121 billion to BRICS — 35% of its total — while importing $88 billion.

✅ With stronger BRICS ties, Brazil has less need to depend on the US, says financial analyst Paul Goncharoff.

De-dollarization accelerates

Lula's push for an alternative currency makes sense — sticking to the dollar means guaranteed loss in value.

"There's really no alternative for the world but to get out of the US dollar trap," Goncharoff stresses.

👉 The shift away from USD is only growing.

👉 PIX, Brazil’s free payment system, bypasses Western firms like Visa and Mastercard — empowering local entrepreneurs, Dr. Vinicius Vieira from the University of São Paulo tells Sputnik.

👉 "And that bothers Trump because those new technologies are a signal that the dollar empire may be coming to an end," the pundit notes.

👉 The US acts desperately to resist its hegemonic decline, but no empire lasts forever. Just as the British pound fell, the US dollar may be facing the same fate.

"The best that [Washington] could do is to offer honest agreements in order to preserve the minimum level of transactions of US dollars, instead of implying sanctions or what now we call a weaponized interdependence," Vieira concludes.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

4th BRICS Summer School South Africa 2025

The 4th BRICS Summer School, hosted by SABYA, is set to unfold under the theme “Building Inclusive Futures: Education, Innovation, and Unity Across the BRICS and Global South.”

This event will bring together distinguished scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss and explore critical issues surrounding education, innovation, and collaboration among the #BRICS nations and the Global South. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue and contribute to shaping inclusive future.

⏰ Date: September 3–5, 2025
📍 Location: University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg Business School

#ANNOUNCEMENT #EVENT

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Russia and Malaysia consider BRICS a platform for aligning mutual interests

Russia and Malaysia view BRICS as a platform for aligning the interests of the Global Majority, as highlighted in the materials prepared by the Kremlin Press Service ahead of the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim.

The two leaders will engage in negotiations at the Kremlin on Wednesday.

"With Russia assuming the Chairship of #BRICS in 2024, Malaysia has been granted partner status within the group. Both Russia and Malaysia regard BRICS as a unique platform for aligning the interests of leading nations representing the Global Majority and an effective mechanism for multilateral cooperation," the briefing notes state.

#NEWS #RussiaMalaysia #diplomacy

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Victoria Panova took part in the Jakarta Futures Forum

On August 5–6, 2025, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) based in India, alongside the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) based in Indonesia and key regional institutions and governments, co-hosted a two-day global conference titled "Jakarta Futures Forum: Securing Seas, Strengthening Cooperation." The forum featured an inaugural plenary session and five thematic pillars.

Victoria Panova, Head of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia, Vice Rector at HSE University, and Russian W20 Sherpa, served as a speaker in the session "Connecting Commerce: BRICS, Africa, and the Next Frontiers in Global Trade" and took on the role of moderator in the session "Faster Routes, Stronger Trade."

📎 The full agenda can be found on the official website of the forum

#NEWS #BRICSExpertCouncil #BRICSExpertCouncilRussia

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Ivan Ivanov, Director of the Pinsky Centre for General and Extracurricular Education at HSE Institute of Education, shares his insights on the report "Transformation of General Education in BRICS Countries," which was collaboratively prepared by the BRICS Expert Council-Russia and the HSE Institute of Education.

"This report marks the first cross-national study examining the state and evolution of general education systems across the BRICS nations. Involving education researchers from these countries to share insights on practices that foster quality education was a carefully considered choice. The contextual and cultural perspectives presented in this report illustrate how meaningful educational practices can be developed in similar emerging economies, as well as in low- and middle-income nations. It underscores the necessity of tailoring educational policies to local contexts while promoting inclusive systems. The #BRICS nations play a pivotal role in global education, characterised by both shared traits and distinct differences shaped by their unique socio-economic landscapes," the expert noted.

📎 Read full-text report

@inobrhse

#ANALYTICS #report #education

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Members of the Civil BRICS Council met in Jakarta

Victoria Panova, Head of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia, Co-Chair of the Russian Chapter of Civil BRICS Council, Russia's W20 Sherpa, and Vice Rector at HSE University, met today the Indonesian Chapter of the Civil BRICS Council represented by Hardiani Uli Silalahi, Vice President of the Indonesian Women’s Congress (KOWANI) and Ah Maftuchan, Executive Director of the Perkumpulan PRAKARSA.

#BRICSExpertCouncil #BRICSExpertCouncilRussia #CivilBRICS

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Digital platforms are reshaping the global economy

Digital platforms are emerging as fundamental components of the modern economic landscape, particularly within the BRICS nations. Yaroslav Kuzminov, Academic Supervisor of HSE University, underscores the need for a balanced approach to regulating these ecosystems, particularly in light of the current monopolisation seen in the United States and China. He believes that the presence of several large players in Russia fosters a healthier competitive landscape.

Kuzminov advocates for pragmatic antitrust measures that account for platforms' systemic impact across all economic sectors. He points to South Korea as a successful example, where an effective equilibrium has been struck between industry self-regulation and government oversight. According to the expert, Russia possesses considerable potential to develop a similar regulatory framework tailored to its unique characteristics.

By establishing clear guidelines and allowing for flexibility in regulation, the platform economy could become a powerful engine of growth, particularly for the #BRICS countries, as long as lessons from other nations are carefully considered.

#NEWS #OPINION

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🚨⚔️Global South strikes back: US tariff threats turning BRICS into full-fledged economic alliance

🇧🇷Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s “explicit call for a collective BRICS response to the latest US tariffs underscores the alliance's increasing cohesion and political assertiveness on the global stage,” Hong Kong-based political and financial Angelo Giuliano told Sputnik, commenting on the bloc’s surprise new show of unity in rejecting Washington’s tariff threats.

While details on specific countermeasures BRICS could take remain unclear, Giuliano can think of a whole series of steps, including:

🟠ramping up trade in local currencies
🟠“strengthening the operational capacity and lending power of the New Development Bank
🟠developing and promoting alternatives to SWIFT
🟠“mounting a coordinated challenge against US tariffs” through the WTO

“Cumulatively, these steps could significantly undermine the US dollar’s global dominance,” weakening Washington economically and “eroding” the “geopolitical leverage” it derives from its financial primacy, Giuliano says.

➕What’s more, the BRICS bloc didn’t arrive to this point overnight, the analyst stressed, pointing to the years the bloc spent on institution-building, and the growing collective economic power of its members, “amplified” even further by the recent expansion.

👉US provocations, from the latest tariffs to the persistent use of sanctions, has served to “galvanize unity within the bloc.”

👉US policymakers, who “significantly underestimated BRICS” for years and dismissing the bloc “as inherently fragmented and incapable of meaningful collective action,” are now finding out the hard way that this is no longer the case.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Energy standoff: US trade relations with China and India at risk?

China is standing firm in defending its right to import oil from Russia and Iran, resisting US pressure to halt these energy supplies aimed at weakening geopolitical rivals. According to Victoria Panova, Head of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia and Vice Rector at HSE University, Beijing's stance is rooted in sovereignty, while US actions can be viewed as an attempt to constrain the development of Global South nations.

"We are not friends against anyone. BRICS is not directed against third countries. We traditionally have a positive agenda; even when creating alternative mechanisms, like a payment system, it’s not about opposing others but advancing the needs of the Global Majority. All #BRICS states clearly adhere to the principle that the group isn’t there to counter anyone," Victoria Panova emphasised.

"Sanctions against Russia have shown that those imposing them suffer first," she added. By deepening partnerships with Russia and Iran, China not only secures energy stability but also bolsters its global economic influence.

As US-China negotiations falter, Beijing’s unwavering defence of its interests could reshape the global balance of power.

#NEWS #BRICSExpertCouncil #BRICSExpertCouncilRussia

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6th UNICAMP International School on Development Challenges

UNICAMP's Institute of Economics has a long tradition in discussing topics associated with economic and social development. In order to broaden the debate with researchers from Brazil and abroad, UNICAMP has been annually organising International Winter Schools since 2019, with the aim of bringing together professors with great international academic recognition and providing graduate students with the opportunity to update and discuss relevant subjects related to development challenges for economic and social Development in the 21st century.

In 2025 we will hold the 6th edition of the UNICAMP International School on Development Challenges, together with the V BRICS Network University International School, and the 4rd BRICS Postgraduate Forum.

This year, the school will be devoted to discussions about #BRICS, the challenges and opportunities for the group in the current era of geopolitical tensions and commercial war.

⏰ Date: August 25-29
🖋️Organisation: Institute of Economics, UNICAMP, Brazil; BRICS Research Centre, Durban University of Technology (DUT), South Africa; HSE University, Moscow, Russia
📎 More information on the website

#ANNOUNCEMENT #Brazil #youth #website

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Lula da Silva to discuss BRICS' joint response to US tariffs with Xi Jinping, Modi

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva intends to hold telephone talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and later with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a possible common response by BRICS member states to the actions by the US administration threatening countries for strengthening trade relations with Russia, the Brazilian president’s special advisor on international affairs, Celso Amorim, said.

"Talks among #BRICS countries are important, especially among those three, which are threatened with additional sanctions for trading with Russia," he stated.

An agreement in principle has already been reached between Brasilia and Beijing to hold talks following the Brazilian leader's conversation with the Indian prime minister, Amorim added.

That said, speaking about possible sanctions against Brazil for trade with Russia, Amorim previously emphasized in a conversation with CNN Brasil that Brasilia rejected the idea of unilateral sanctions and allowed their introduction only by the UN decision.

#NEWS #Brazil #China #India #sanctions

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