Dilemmas and Obstacles: Multilateral Energy Cooperation Among BRICS Countries

Multilateral energy cooperation among BRICS countries remains largely at the stage of initiatives with few substantial actions that have been taken so far. Three main reasons can account for it. One is a contending concern of energy security that constrains energy cooperation between energy producing countries and energy consuming countries. The second is energy diplomacy with self- help logic as the main principle, which discourages BRICS countries from taking collective actions to secure their energy security. The third one is the international energy system that conditions BRICS countries to participate in the international energy cooperation. As a result, multilateral energy cooperation is of secondary importance in the agenda of BRICS countries, and the degree of their involvement in global energy cooperation is relatively low.