South African President Cyril Ramaphosa greets African heads of state and government at a working dinner at the Sandton Convention Center in Sandton on November 21, 2025, ahead of the G20 Summit. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET/AFP via Getty Images)
Emmanuel Crozet AFP | Getty Images
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, host of this weekend’s Group of 20 (G20) summit, said on Saturday that there was “overwhelming agreement” on the summit’s declaration despite the United States boycotting the meeting.
G20 envoys drafted a leaders’ declaration on Friday without U.S. cooperation, four sources familiar with the matter said, in a surprise move that a senior White House official described as “shameful.”
One of those sources confirmed that the draft referred to climate change, despite objections from US President Donald Trump, who doubts the scientific consensus that warming is caused by human activity.
In his opening remarks at the Johannesburg summit, Prime Minister Ramaphosa said there was “overwhelming consensus and agreement that one of the other things we must address first…is the adoption of our declaration.”
He thanked all delegations who worked with South Africa “in good faith to produce a valuable G20 outcome document.”
“We must not allow anything to undermine the value, status and influence of Africa’s first G20 Presidency,” he continued.
President Trump rejects South Africa’s G20 agenda
President Trump said U.S. officials would not attend the summit because allegations that the host country’s black-majority government persecutes white minorities are widely discredited.
The US president also rejected the host nation’s agenda to promote unity and help developing countries adapt to climate disasters, transition to clean energy, and reduce excessive debt costs.
Although the boycott put a damper on President Ramaphosa’s plans to tout South Africa’s role in promoting multilateral diplomacy, some analysts suggested it could benefit if other member states embrace the summit’s agenda and move towards a substantive declaration.
It was not clear what concessions would have to be made on wording to reach agreement on the draft declaration.
The United States opposes mentioning climate and renewable energy in discussions, and some other member states are often reluctant to do so as well.
Three of South Africa’s four main agenda items – preparing for climate-induced weather disasters, financing the transition to green energy and securing a rush to secure critical minerals to benefit producers – are closely linked to climate change.
The fourth concerns fairer borrowing systems for poor countries.
The US is scheduled to host the G20 in 2026, and Ramaphosa said the rotating presidency must be handed over to a “vacant” position. The South African Presidency has rejected a US proposal to send a US charge d’affaires for the G20 handover.
