South Africa has drawn up a comprehensive programme of 122 issues – many of which are directly relevant to developing countries. The economic disparities between rich and poor countries in particular are a major theme of the two-day meeting in a suburb of Johannesburg.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said there was consensus on the ambitious target document as the meeting opened in Soweto. Normally, statements at G20 gatherings are adopted only when the meetings conclude.
Is in a feud
But almost all of the participating countries chose to agree on the statement already on Saturday – a decision that was also seen as a direct criticism of the United States, which chose to boycott the G20 meeting. President Donald Trump's administration is in a feud with South Africa over, among other things, how the country treats its white population.
"I regret it, but it should not stop us. Our responsibility is to be present, to engage and to cooperate as we have many challenges ahead of us," French President Emmanuel Macron said at the meeting.
Climate and soils
Argentina's representative announced after the adoption that the country's President Javier Milei was against the statement - but the announcement had no significance as the statement was adopted without a vote.
Among the formal commitments are financing a transition to green energy, direct financial interventions against environmental disasters caused by fossil fuels in poor countries, and regulations surrounding the mining of so-called rare earth metals.
During the meeting in Soweto on Saturday, parallel talks were held about developments in Ukraine and the so-called peace plan that the Trump administration has presented.
The G20 group consists of 19 countries and two unions: the EU and the African Union (AU). South Africa currently holds the rotating presidency of the G20.
Member countries of the G20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Canada, China, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, United States.
The following countries were also invited to the meeting in Soweto, Johannesburg in South Africa: Algeria, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
Source: g20.org.
