The IMF classifies countries in two groups: (1) advanced countries (2) emerging and developing countries (EMDC). Some observers refer to the EMDC as the “global south”. A long-standing grouping of developing countries has been the G-77, established in 1964 by 77 countries at the United Nations. The membership has grown to 134 members (https://www.g77.org/doc/members.html). Their foreign ministers meet once a year before the opening of the General Assembly and the G77 often takes positions on issues in various UN bodies. The Chairmanship rotates by region. Uganda was the chair in New York during 2024. Most energy statistics group data by OECD and non-OECD countries. Also, major emerging countries are members of the G-20, an intergovernmental forum established in 1999 including 19 states and the European Union and the African Union. The EMDC countries which are members of the G-20 include Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.
BRIC was championed by Russian President Putin, who arranged a Ministerial meeting at the United Nations in September 2006. It was formally established in 2009 as a forum of leading EMDC countries to pursue common interests, increasing ones that counter those of the OECD countries, such as creating a separate financial settlements system. Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC) were the original members, and South Africa at invitation of China (host of the 2023 Summit) joined in 2023. Additional Members were invited in 2023 to increase the grouping’s size to 10 members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s official joining of BRICS was delayed until early 2024. Applications for membership were submitted by Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. At the 2024 BRICS Summit in Russia, 13 countries were reported added as partners, not formal members: Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Turkey, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
Although BRICS has been around for many years, the changed geopolitical landscape since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including Western sanctions regimes, has focused greater attention on the BRICS and its implications for the existing international order and institutions, particularly financial institutions and trading systems. BRICS have created an international bank but its capitalization is limited at presence.
There has been some focus on energy in the BRICS, and countries agreed to pursue cooperation in nuclear energy during the 2024 Russia meeting. All of the BRICS-5 have civilian nuclear power units and several of the other members/partners (UAE, Iran, Egypt, Belarus, Turkey) have or are building their initial nuclear plants.
The EMDC have great significance for the global energy market. In 2023, the non-OECD countries consumed 62.9% of global primary energy, contributed 68% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, produced 67.5% of global crude oil and condensate output, 59.8% of natural gas production, 62.6% of electricity generation, and 59.1% of renewable energy generation. Their growth in energy consumption of about 4% per annum(driven especially by China and India) has been faster than the OECD countries .
The EMDC’s position on energy issues was prominent at the recent COP29 Climate meeting in Azerbaijan. They criticized the Advanced Countries for not providing enough funding for their emissions reduction, adaptation and loss and damage efforts. They reluctantly agreed on the target (New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG)) to triple financing to $300 billion per year by 2035 in the Final Statement.