World

The Fossil Fuel Trap: Why the Expanded BRICS is Threatening South Africa’s Green Transition

As Pretoria and Brasília deepen their partnership on sustainable development, fresh research from the South African Institute of International Affairs this July of 2026 has exposed a critical fracture within the newly expanded BRICS bloc. While the alliance champions a unified Southern voice on climate finance, the inclusion of major global petrostates threatens to trap developing nations in a new energy divide. Caught between Western carbon tariffs and cheap, fossil-fuelled expansion, South Africa is discovering that the road to a just transition is becoming a geopolitical minefield.