What the study found
The article argues that the BRICS countries have an important role in challenging Western narratives in global climate governance. It also says that climate litigation is not only a legal tool but a way of building discourse, and that changing the knowledge system is central to changing power structures in climate governance.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors suggest that the Global South needs an autonomous knowledge system to resist the universalization and objectification of Western knowledge. They conclude that a shift in epistemology, meaning how knowledge is understood and produced, is necessary to change power structures in global climate governance.
What the researchers tested
The article uses a comparative legal discourse analysis. It takes the 2023 United Nations General Assembly request for an International Court of Justice consultation opinion on states' obligations in climate change as its background and asks what the core discourse of the BRICS countries is in climate governance and how that discourse is constructed.
What worked and what didn't
The abstract says the analysis highlights the central position of the knowledge system in legal and political discourse. It also states that the BRICS countries are presented as a typical example of South-South cooperation and as offering alternative governance models, but it does not provide detailed empirical findings in the abstract.
What to keep in mind
The available summary does not describe specific evidence, case comparisons, or detailed results. The abstract also does not state methodological limits or note any counterarguments.
Key points
- The article argues that colonial legal and knowledge legacies still shape global climate politics.
- It presents climate litigation as both a legal tool and a way of constructing discourse.
- The BRICS countries are described as important actors in challenging Western climate narratives.
- The paper uses the 2023 UN General Assembly request for an ICJ consultation opinion as its research background.
- The authors emphasize that changing the knowledge system is key to changing climate governance power structures.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- BRICS climate discourse challenges Western legal dominance
- Authors:
- Xisheng Wang
- Institutions:
- Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-10
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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