South Africa hosting the G20 to highlight climate emergency
Africa will be hosting its first G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, aiming to address climate change and inequalities, according to AP on November 19th.
The summit, opening on November 22nd and bringing together the leaders of dozens of countries, will be an opportunity to highlight the vulnerability of developing countries surrounding climate issues, and to urge richer countries to offer more support.
South Africa wants to focus on how poorer countries are impacted by climate change and how to improve responses to disasters. African countries have been affected by devastating flash floods and storms, particularly in Cape Verde in August 2025, and Nigeria in July 2025.
Storms and cyclones causing billions of dollars worth of damages are also becoming more frequent, and East African countries have seen their worse drought in decades, resulting in population displacement and malnutrition.
Binaifer Nowrojee, president of the NGO Open Society Foundations, linked these issues with income inequalities, noting that “the ravages of the climate are directly linked to the ravages of inequality”, with poorer countries being forced to choose between investing in their economies and acting on climate issues.
US President Donald Trump has announced that he will not be attending, nor will any representatives, despite the fact that the US is due to take over its rotating presidency of the G20.
Ronald Lamola, South Africa’s foreign minister, responded to this absence by stating it was an opportunity to “send a clear message that the world can move on” without the US. China’s president Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin will also not be attending.
AP, Maghrebi.org
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