Wednesday, 9 July 2025 () At the recent gathering of BRICS nations in Brazil, the members’ joint statement contained an interesting assertion. BRICS leaders said that, while recognizing the need for an energy transition, they “acknowledge fossil fuels will still play an important role in the world’s energy mix, particularly for emerging markets and developing economies.” Luckily for BRICS members, they tend to be rather rich in such fuels. A lot of these developing economies are in South America—which also happens to feature some sizable oil…