By: Zawya

A G20 presidency extends far beyond a single summit; it constitutes a series of dialogues among nations representing 78.9% of the global population. In her analysis, energy and climate policy researcher Britta Rennkamp examines South Africa’s 2025 G20 presidency, which opened with themes of solidarity, equality, and sustainability. While the presidency hosted 177 meetings and achieved specific outcomes—such as adding environmental crime to the G20 agenda—its final declaration was often vaguely worded on critical climate issues.

Rennkamp argues that the presidency was a mixed diplomatic success. It reinforced solidarity by recognizing Africa’s unique climate vulnerabilities and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, whereby high-emission nations should support Africa with funding and technology. On equality, it launched a voluntary clean cooking initiative but failed to explicitly address energy poverty or advance just transition principles from the previous year. Regarding sustainability, it highlighted Africa’s debt crisis and the need for affordable clean energy finance but omitted any mention of phasing out fossil fuel subsidies—a goal first set in 2009.

The handover to the 2026 US presidency was strained, marked by the US boycotting the summit and subsequently disinviting South Africa from future engagements. The article concludes that the ongoing responsibility to uphold the themes of solidarity, equality, and sustainability for Africa now rests with the remaining G20 members.