BRASILIA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- In an increasingly volatile world, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies is synonymous with the "defense of multilateralism," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday.

Lula made the remarks at a virtual summit convened to address challenges facing the multilateral trading system, unilateralism in international relations and attacks on sovereign states.

The Global South has the conditions to propose a different development paradigm and refute a new Cold War, he said.

"Unilateralism will never lead to the realization of the goals of peace, justice and prosperity that our predecessors outlined in 1945 ... BRICS is already the new name for the defense of multilateralism," said Lula.

According to Lula, the pillars of the international order established in 1945 are being undermined at an accelerated pace and in an irresponsible manner.

"In just a few weeks, unilateral measures have rendered fundamental principles of free trade, such as the Most Favored Nation and 'national treatment' clauses, meaningless," he stressed. "Our countries have become victims of unjustified and illegal trade practices."

"Tariff blackmail is becoming normalized as a tool to conquer markets and interfere in domestic affairs. The imposition of extraterritorial measures threatens our institutions," he said.

Trade and financial cooperation among the BRICS countries, such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, offers a safe way to mitigate the impact of protectionism, he said, urging BRICS members to "arrive united at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference next year in Cameroon."

Lula highlighted another key gap in the multilateral architecture: without democratic governance, the digital domain risks being dominated by a handful of companies in a few countries.

Unilateralism can also have grave consequences on the environment, he said, noting that developing countries are the most affected by climate change.

The upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be hosted by Brazil in November, "will be the moment of truth and science," said Lula, highlighting the need for "stronger climate governance capable of effective oversight." ■