BRICS countries view climate change as a pressingglobal issue and “for sustaining high levels of economic growth in BRICS”(BRICS Report, 2012:167).
These countries have “to play a key role in globalefforts to combat climate change and it should be in their own interest”(Lawson, Heacock and Stupnytska, 2007:111). In their Third Summit, they declaredtheir commitment “to work towards a comprehensive, balanced and binding outcometo strengthen the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change and its Kyoto Protocol”. (BRICS, 2011). BRICS countries’ alsocondemned the US pulling out of the Paris accord and its environment ministershave reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the Paris Climatedeal despite the US withdrawal.
America pulling out of the Paris accord couldlead help BRICS countries to play a stronger role in climate diplomacy. The 2013 Human Development Report holds that ‘therising South has to assume more responsibility on the global stage, in linewith its increasing economic power and political clout, including bycontributing more resources to multilateral organizations’ (Culp, 2016:1527).The increased capability of the BRICS nations has been a significantdevelopment in the international community and is giving an impetus totransform the system. The obstacles of today’s time cannot simply be met by theG-7 countries and require a more united effort, including new stakeholders.Human Rights and SovereigntyThe issue of human rights came into focus after theharrowing destruction of war, and the loss of countless lives in it.
The United Nations Charter, “reaffirmed faithin fundamental human rights, and dignity and worth of the human person” andcommitted all member states to promote “universal respect for, and observanceof, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as torace, sex, language, or religion,” (United Nations,1945). The UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights (1948) laid the foundation for the modern day humanrights. By mid-1990s, the internationalhuman rights norm had diffused widely due to the rapid increase of liberaldemocratic states.
In particular, responsibility to protect (R2P) and”liberal intervention” became methods through which the West ensured theadherence to human rights. After the Cold War, notions of “R2P gave theinternational community legal rights and obligations to intervene in theaffairs of sovereign states” (Ikenberry, 2015:61). It is described as theresponsibility of each State to protect their citizens from genocide, warcrimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, and must take action tohelp other nations whose governments can’t or won’t protect their peoples, inaccordance to the UN Charter (United Nations, 2005). Sovereignty isgenerally described as having ultimate authority over a territory, with theabsolute right to govern but countries interpret sovereignty differently due totheir historical