The GEO SUSTAINABILITY BRICS 2026 International Scientific Conference — fostering scientific dialogue
The GEO‑SUSTAINABILITY BRICS 2026 International Scientific Conference was held in Nalchik from September 23 to 25. The conference brought together researchers, experts, and representatives of scientific institutions with expertise in geophysics, climatology, ecology, and sustainable natural resource management.
Delegates from Russia, Brazil, India, China, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and other countries explored the key challenges and opportunities facing the BRICS bloc and identified priority areas for advancing international scientific cooperation.
The conference program was designed as a comprehensive platform for scientific dialogue, featuring plenary sessions, thematic sections, and interdisciplinary presentations. Particular emphasis was placed on combining fundamental and applied approaches, as well as on utilizing modern methods to study climatic and geophysical processes and their impact on ecological systems, energy security, and the socio-economic development of BRICS nations.
The conference’s highlight was the plenary session titled “Global Challenges and Technological Sovereignty: The BRICS Agenda in Earth Sciences.” Victoria Panova, Head of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia, presented her keynote, “Seizing the Initiative Amid the Climate Divide: Why BRICS Needs New Rules for the Environmental Game.” She spotlighted the core tensions shaping the current environmental discourse and proposed a framework for BRICS nations to set their own standards and build tailored mechanisms to address global climate threats.
“ ”
The climate agenda is no longer the sole domain of specialized agencies: its scope has broadened significantly to encompass economic and technological sovereignty, energy security, and equitable development. BRICS is advancing a new cooperation model grounded in shared responsibility and respect for national interests. While the grouping does not envision phasing out fossil fuels in the near term, natural gas, hydrogen, and nuclear energy are recognized as key components of the energy mix—and will remain critical even as countries meet their international climate commitments.
Victoria Panova
Head of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia
A key conference highlight was the BRICS Expert Council-Russia session “BRICS Science and Technology Cooperation: Climate, Sustainable Development, and Innovation.” Experts from the Council and their international colleagues showcased results from real‑world research initiatives and laid out practical frameworks for strengthening coordinated science and technology work within BRICS.
Kicking off the session, moderator Victoria Panova, emphasized that 2026 is unlocking new opportunities for the grouping. She noted that the 18th Summit in New Delhi underscored BRICS’ readiness to move from rhetoric to tangible, operational mechanisms. With the BRICS countries’ share of global scientific publications nearing 50 %, the science and technology agenda is no longer a standalone track—it’s now fully integrated into the economy, energy sector, healthcare, and digital transformation.
The following presented their reports:
Irina Kuklina, Executive Director of the Analytical Center for International Scientific, Technological and Educational Programs (ICISTEP): "THEMATIC AREAS OF GEOECOLOGY, CLIMATE, SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT, AND INNOVATION IN BRICS STI WORKING GROUPS".
Fabiano Pellin Mielniczuk, Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Researcher: "THE BRICS NETWORK UNIVERSITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION".
“ ”
What makes BRICS unique—and so appealing to countries of the Global South? It’s not just a regional bloc; it’s a coalition with truly global reach. Take MERCOSUR as a comparison: its members are neighbors, clustered in one region. BRICS, by contrast, spans multiple continents—a geographic spread that dramatically boosts the group’s political influence. It also unlocks the full potential of the collective economic and technological expertise its members have built up. Far from seeing the diversity of its economies—and China’s outsized role—as a weakness, BRICS treats it as a strategic advantage. The differences among member states create powerful opportunities for complementary economic activity. This kind of pragmatic cooperation delivers real, tangible benefits to people across the member countries and supports their path to sovereign development.
Fabiano Pellin Mielniczuk
Professor
Anna Sytnik, Expert of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia, General Director of the "Coordination Laboratory" ANO, Leading Researcherat the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies, HSEUniversity: "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INFRASTRUCTURE ANDENERGY: CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR BRICSCOUNTRIES".
“ ”
Artificial intelligence won’t become a truly universal engine for development as long as computing power and infrastructure remain concentrated in the hands of a few states and corporations. For BRICS, sustainability means striking the right balance: scaling up AI while ensuring access to affordable energy, building domestic infrastructure, and guaranteeing equitable access to technology. Otherwise, the digital divide will simply recreate old patterns of dependency—just at a new technological level.
Anna Sytnik
Expert of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia
Pyotr Punchenko, Expert of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia, Senior Lecturer at the St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI): "FROM ORBIT TO SUSTAINABILITY: EARTH OBSERVATION AS A SHAREDINFRASTRUCTURE FOR BRICS CLIMATE COOPERATION".
“ ”
Satellite data is fast becoming a cornerstone for BRICS countries—key to understanding climate shifts, stewarding water supplies, strengthening agriculture, and keeping tabs on forest cover. The real potential lies in combining hardware and know‑how: from satellite tech and image access to shared methods and skills training. By linking regional data pools and launching collaborative research, universities and science hubs can generate concrete findings that directly support smarter, evidence‑based planning for local and national development.
Pyotr Punchenko
Expert of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia
Elizabeth Smolovik , Junior Researcher at the Laboratory for Economics of Climate Change, Institute of Natural Resource Economics and Climate Change, HSE University: "ENHANCING CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN BRICS COUNTRIES THROUGH SCIENCE-BASED COOPERATION".
Wessam Alkurdi, Head of the NGO "Research Center for Studies and Culture" (RCSC): "ALIGNING CLIMATE ACTION, BIOECONOMY DEVELOPMENT, AND ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION WITH CULTURAL PRACTICES THROUGH MULTILATERAL SOUTH–SOUTH INNOVATION COOPERATION NETWORKS".
The GEO‑SUSTAINABILITY BRICS 2026 conference closed with a key resolution: concrete proposals to scale up international research collaborations, plus a roadmap for joint papers and on‑the‑ground studies.
Organized by Kabardino‑Balkarian State University (named after H. B. Berbekov), the High‑Mountain Geophysical Institute, and the Intercultural Communication Centre "Respublica" the conference was held with the support of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia.