Together Alone? Brazil, South Africa, India, China (BASIC) and the Climate Change Conundrum

The BASIC group—comprising Brazil, South Africa, India, and China—leverages its collective economic and geopolitical weight to advocate for developing country interests in climate negotiations, specifically demanding that industrialised countries bear primary responsibility for emission reductions and funding. While the group presents a 'common front' and aligns with the G77, it faces internal tensions due to vastly different domestic realities: China's superpower status, India's low per capita emissions, Brazil's focus on land-use emissions, and South Africa's coal-dependent energy sector. The brief suggests that while the group provides political shelter and leverage, its cohesion will be tested as negotiations move toward finer technical details and as South Africa prepares to host COP17.

• The BASIC countries possess significant political and economic leverage, positioning them as essential brokers for any future international climate agreement, particularly in their ability to challenge industrialised nations.
• The group maintains a firm stance that industrialised countries, especially the US, must commit to more ambitious emission reductions and provide increased funding for mitigation and adaptation before developing countries take on mandatory commitments.
• Despite their collective strategy, the four nations have divergent emission profiles and domestic drivers: China is a 'developing country superpower'; India has per capita emissions similar to Least Developed Countries; Brazil's emissions are primarily driven by land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF); and South Africa has per capita emissions on par with the EU due to coal dominance.
• The BASIC group uses its solidarity and alignment with the G77 as a strategic shield to protect individual members from pressures by industrialised countries to accept greater emission reduction commitments.
• The group has struggled to reach a consensus on 'equity' because each member defines the concept in a way that favours its own material interests: India focuses on per capita emissions and historical responsibility, while China emphasizes cumulative historical emissions.
• There is a disconnect between the international pledges made by BASIC countries and their domestic actions, such as China's National Climate Change Program (2007) and India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008), which are often under-recognised globally.

APA

Olsson, M., Atteridge, A., Hallding, K., & Hellberg, J. (2010). Together Alone? Brazil, South Africa, India, China (BASIC) and the Climate Change Conundrum. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-Olsson-BASIC-ClimateChangeConundrum.pdf

Chicago

Olsson, Marie, Aaron Atteridge, Karl Hallding, and Joakim Hellberg. Together Alone? Brazil, South Africa, India, China (BASIC) and the Climate Change Conundrum. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2010. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-Olsson-BASIC-ClimateChangeConundrum.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{olsson2010together, author = {Olsson, Marie and Atteridge, Aaron and Hallding, Karl and Hellberg, Joakim}, title = {{Together Alone? Brazil, South Africa, India, China (BASIC) and the Climate Change Conundrum}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-Olsson-BASIC-ClimateChangeConundrum.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }