SA faces tough choices after BRICS Kazan summit declarations
Professor Patrick Bond from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) recently critiqued the BRICS 2024 Summit held in Kazan, Russia, as an exercise in “hype, hope, and hopelessness.”
He criticized BRICS nations for producing 51% of global emissions yet only generating 29% of global gross domestic product, underscoring the economic imbalance that BRICS embodies.
As a climate-focused economist at UJ’s Centre for Social Change, Bond anticipates a united front between BRICS and the West at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference.
What it means is that next month when the BRICS countries go to Azerbaijan for the COP29 UNFCCC climate Conference, you will find that the BRICS and the West are aligned.
Renowned economist Richard Wolff, the author of Understanding Capitalism and Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, says the BRICS Summit is a historic turning point a radical alteration.
He asserts that it is a new economic world, and everyone around the world is adjusting to this new BRICS reality.
Citing that the global dominance of the US is now over, Wolff said the US is pretending that as a state it doesn't have to worry about (BRICS) reality check.
In my last column on the 15th BRICS 2023 Summit in Johannesburg, I previously outlined several trade and development opportunities for South Africa within the bloc.
A year later, however, it’s disheartening to report that not a single deal or project from these opportunities has materialised.
South Africa (SA) has missed critical openings in BRICS to enhance trade and infrastructure, failing to secure meaningful advances in bilateral trade relations.
Once again, we find ourselves on the back foot due to indecisive leadership and missed economic prospects, especially regarding infrastructure development, where there has been almost no progress since South Africa hosted BRICS leaders in Sandton last year.
Will SA ever learn through this never-ending socio-economic blunder? I doubt we will ever learn a single lesson.
Held a year after South Africa’s 2023 Summit in Sandton, the expanded BRICS bloc now controls 80% of global oil production.
Key resolutions included opposition to unilateral climate measures and a call for resilient global supply chains and stable energy demand to secure universal access to sustainable energy and ensure energy security at all levels.
The Kazan Declarations reaffirm BRICS's commitment to mutual respect, equality, solidarity, and inclusiveness.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his address at the BRICS Business Forum Meeting, Kazan, October 20 2024 highlighted BRICS's potential to reshape the global economy and foster development.
He called BRICS’s expansion a historic move that now includes "43% of the world’s population; 27%of global GDP."
He said, “The BRICS Business Council has a crucial role in expanding trade between BRICS countries. As governments, we are committed to support the work of business. We, therefore, call on fellow BRICS countries to partner with us to build the roads, ports for imports and exports, rail, energy and telecommunications networks that will enable Africa to industrialise and trade with other countries across the world"
Ramaphosa emphasised the need for a recalibration of trade rules to support industrialisation and enhance the beneficiation of mineral resources in BRICS countries.
Ramaphosa commended the progress made by the Bank under the leadership of the chair of the New Development Bank, Dilma Rousseff, acknowledging its significant contributions to development in the region.
The Summit declarations stressed the need to apply all climate change-related solutions in a fair and balanced manner which ought to be non-discriminatory and non-punitive towards the nation state.
BRICS 2024 Summit Kazan Declarations on Energy:
Declaration 80:
- Emphasise the fundamental role of energy access in achieving SDGs.
- Highlight the need for enhanced cooperation among BRICS nations as key energy producers and consumers.
- Advocate for fair, inclusive, sustainable, and equitable energy transitions.
- Stress the importance of balancing energy security and transitions with the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement.
- Reaffirm commitment to a free, fair, and transparent international energy trade and investment environment.
- Promote resilient global supply chains and stable energy demand for universal access to sustainable energy.
Declaration 81:
- Recognise the importance of considering national circumstances, including climate, economy, and energy mix.
- Highlight the specific needs of developing countries reliant on fossil fuels for their economies.
- Uphold the principle of technological neutrality to efficiently utilize all energy sources for just transitions.
In no way does the BRICS bloc of countries refuse to adopt responsibility towards working together with all multilateral institutions in combating climate change.
The only flavour twist is on the specific energy standpoint demands articulated within the Kazan Declarations.
The emphasis universal agreement that BRICS countries will work together, with the UNFCCC Climate Change to uphold the principle of technological neutrality, i.e. using all available fuels, energy sources and technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This is a stark departure from the current single narrative punted around by the green lobby pundits who refuse to view energy sources from a neutralist perspective.
The core attitudes are driven by the all-pervasive attitudes that will never bend to accommodate all energy sources as critical in the fight against global CO2 emissions.
The upcoming COP29 Climate Conference will be the most interesting COP conference in history because of the new developments out of the BRICS countries block.
The Summit has sealed the debate of which energy source will be preferred as a means to mitigate global emissions by endorsing all energy forms as vital in the fight against climate change.
This comes after SA made a passionate appeal to BRICS leaders in its speech on how the country is pursuing a renewables-only energy pathway.
Will SA implement the Summit declarations? That remains to be seen with the current tension with the Government of National Unity (GNU). It is going to be a tall order to adopt a neutral standpoint on the energy mix.
SA seemed lost and out in the woods when the issues of global energy sovereignty, energy security and cooperation were discussed.
Many opportunities have once again been missed by SA due to its inability, lack of depth and capacity to comprehend how to navigate the global energy scenery and choice of energy technology battles.
The current GNU political climate is not encouraging at all. The GNU is not in agreement regarding the position held by SA and its membership in the BRICS country partnership.
The parties within the GNU are at odds with the main leading partner, the ANC, within the GNU. I don't see SA succeeding in playing a double standard moves and role in global politics of being the please-all and never-upset-anyone game moves.
The time has arrived for SA to take a stand and be decisive in which economic trajectory it will follow.
The battle is now between following the unipolar US-dominated economic block or remaining within BRICS, taking up a strong role in the BRICS member states alliance ambitions and doubling down on its commitments to drive all BRICS agenda interests.
The 2024 BRICS Kazan declarations have a long-standing and binding effect on all BRICS member states.
SA is now in a tight corner and has to wiggle itself out of this conundrum.
This reminds me of a famous line that was once spoken by Jim Lovell, the Apollo mission commander, after the command module pilot, Jack Swigert, reported a problem to Mission Control in Houston, Texas. It is befitting in the context of SA to now say “Houston, we've had a problem”.
Crown Prince Adil Nchabeleng is president of Transform RSA and an independent energy expert.
* The views in this column are independent of “Business Report” and Independent Media.
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