The BRICS Sustainability Paradox in Global Governance

Abstract

Sustainability has become one of the prominent moral vocabularies in global governance, yet its ubiquity often obscures the gap between discourse and material change. This tension is evident in the BRICS , where appeals to ‘green growth’ and ‘responsible tourism’ frequently perform legitimacy rather than deliver transformation. BRICS governments project ecological commitment through declarations, branding, and indicators while maintaining growth-oriented practices—a communication–implementation gap that reveals sustainability’s limits as governing language. Tourism offers a strategic lens on this dynamic because it brings together mobility, regulation, investment, and soft power, making it a site where the rhetoric of ‘sustainability’ can easily displace accountability. This Global Forum piece argues that sustainability in BRICS operates simultaneously as mirror and mask, reflecting ambition while concealing structural continuities. Restoring credibility requires independent verification, impact-based metrics, and the inclusion of Southern epistemologies. Ultimately, BRICS offers both a warning and an opening for global governance reform.