Plataforma CIPÓ has just released the policy brief “BRICS and the Green Industrialization of the Future”, authored by researchers Benjamin H. Bradlow and Alexandros Kentikelenis.
The publication discusses how BRICS countries — including both original and newly admitted members — can take on a leadership role in promoting a greener, fairer, and more inclusive path to industrialization. It highlights how the Global South faces a triple challenge: decarbonizing economies, adapting to climate impacts, and promoting sustainable development, often without access to affordable technologies or solid industrial capacity.
In response to this scenario, the policy brief proposes a new approach to green technology transfers, grounded in South–South cooperation, coordinated industrial policies, and strengthened local capacities. It underscores that technology transfer only delivers real benefits when embedded in coherent national strategies, supported by strong institutions, and geared toward long-term upgrading.
The publication offers two priority recommendations:
Strengthen South–South cooperation and BRICS-led platforms as vehicles for green technology transfer, through joint research, technical training, and co-development initiatives involving development banks, innovation agencies, and domestic industries;
Advance a coordinated BRICS industrial policy to counter geopolitical fragmentation and restrictive intellectual property regimes, making strategic use of policy tools such as targeted public financing, local content requirements, and sustainable public procurement.
By emphasizing the growing role of BRICS countries as both producers and exporters of green technologies, the brief argues that the group has a unique opportunity to shape a new model of global development that is both climate-aligned and socially just — breaking with the extractive patterns of the past.
