TIANJIN /China/, June 23. /TASS/. The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) reiterated their commitment to the Paris accord on climate at a meeting in China’s northern city of Tianjin on Friday, Russia’s top delegate said.
"Participants of the meeting declared that they would continue to observe the provisions of the Paris agreement on climate change," Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources Nuritdin Inamov said, commenting on the third meeting of BRICS environmental ministers and the signing of a memorandum of understanding.
"As the participants are ministers and other senior officials of BRICS countries in charge of environmental issues, a joint statement of this kind sends a clear signal to the whole world," the Russian official added.
At the meeting, the participants signed an inter-agency memorandum of understanding in environmental protection. The memorandum outlines various areas of cooperation, including efforts aimed at improving the quality of air and water, preserving biological diversity, combating climate change, managing waste, implementing the 2030 sustainable development program and working on other issues of mutual interest.
"The first paragraph of it states that we reiterate our commitment to the Paris agreement. The BRICS states play an important part in the global economy, and declare their need to continue their work on implementing relevant agreements on the global scale," he said.
He said that although BRICS member states are at various stages of ratification of the Paris accord, "there is explicit support of the Paris accord, the agreements adopted by the 70th UN session on sustainable development."
The third BRICS ministerial meeting on environmental protection will end later on Friday. The main goal of the event is to step up the international effort against global climate changes and ensure continuity in implementing multilateral environmental accords, such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.
Russian Ecology Minister Sergey Donskoy was expected to take part in the meeting. However, he could not participate "because of his heavy agenda."