Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) adopted the ‘BRICS Leaders’ Xiamen Declaration,’ reaffirming their commitment to fully implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, committing to enhance BRICS cooperation on climate change and expand green financing, and agreeing “to take concrete actions to advance result-oriented cooperation in such areas as prevention of air and water pollution, waste management and biodiversity conservation,” among others.
On climate, the BRICS leaders call for full implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and urge developed countries to provide financial, technological and capacity-building support to developing countries to enhance their mitigation and adaptation capabilities.
On agriculture, BRICS agree to deepen cooperation in five priority areas: food security and nutrition; adaptation of agriculture to climate change; agricultural technology cooperation and innovation; agricultural trade and investment; and information and communication technology (ICT) application in agriculture to, inter alia, contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"The BRICS leaders reaffirm their commitment to industrial cooperation, highlight the importance of innovation as a key driver for mid- and long-term economic growth and global sustainable development, agree to share experience and practices in realizing education-related SDGs, and recognize the importance of improving urban environmental sustainability."
On energy, the BRICS leaders commit to strengthen their cooperation, and acknowledge that clean and affordable energy needs to be affordable for all. They pledge to work to foster open, flexible and transparent markets for energy commodities and technologies, as well as to promote effective use of fossil fuels and wider use of gas, hydro and nuclear power to improve energy access.
The BRICS leaders also, inter alia: reaffirm their commitment to industrial cooperation, including on industrial capacities and policies, new industrial infrastructure and standards; highlight the importance of innovation as a key driver for mid- and long-term economic growth and global sustainable development; agree to share experience and practices in realizing education-related SDGs; and recognize the importance of improving urban environmental sustainability.
The Xiamen Declaration is the outcome of the ninth BRICS Summit, which took place in Xiamen, China, from 3-5 September 2017, under the theme ‘BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future.’ It outlines the countries’ practical economic cooperation, as well as their contribution to global economic governance, international peace and security, and people-to-people exchanges. Annexes to the Declaration include more than 60 BRICS cooperation outcome documents, the Xiamen Action Plan, a list of BRICS meetings for 2017 and proposals to be further explored.
To fight illegal coca plantations and conflict actors’ income sources, Colombia’s president wants to loosen the ban on aerial glyphosate spraying. However, considering the dynamics of organised crime, the use of toxic herbicides will not only fail to achieve its aim, it will have many adverse effects for the environment and human health, fundamentally undermining ways to reach peace in the country. International cooperation and national policy-makers need to account for this peace spoiler.
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The challenges facing the international community are growing while the willingness to cooperate seems to be waning. Foreign policy must help bridge this gap. One way to accomplish this is by pushing forward a major achievement of multilateralism: the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. At a side event during the 2019 High-Level Political Forum, diplomats and policy experts discussed the role of foreign policy in the global sustainability architecture.