<p>Urban areas in the BRICS economies face increasing pressures from climate variability, financial constraints, and systemic shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with direct implications for access to basic services. This study examined how climate change and green finance affected urban access to basic water services, and how these relationships were moderated by the pandemic. Using the Cross-sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag framework, the study isolated long- and short-run dynamics. The results showed that climate change significantly decreased urban water access in the long run, while green finance exerted a positive and significant effect. The direct impact of COVID-19 was not statistically significant; however, its interaction with climate change and green finance modified the established dynamics. Post-pandemic, the adverse effect of climate change weakened, whereas the positive effect of green finance diminished. Short-run estimates confirmed the persistence of climate-related shocks and the marginal support provided by green finance. The error correction mechanism indicated a gradual adjustment toward long-run equilibrium. Based on these findings, the study suggested the need for BRICS economies to strengthen climate-resilient infrastructure to mitigate negative impact on water access. There is also the need to sustain and stabilise green finance flows to maintain the gains on urban water security and integrate health shocks into urban policy design to build robust water infrastructure that can withstand emergencies like the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>