G20 leaders meet in South Africa as summit proceeds without the United States
Leaders of the world’s largest economies opened the G20 Summit in South Africa on Saturday, moving ahead with efforts to finalize a joint declaration despite the United States’ decision to boycott the meeting.
Washington withdrew from the summit over allegations — widely dismissed by analysts — that South Africa’s Black-led government is persecuting its white minority, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
A senior White House official criticized the decision to draft the summit declaration without U.S. participation, calling the process “shameful.”
According to four sources familiar with the talks, G20 envoys reached agreement on a draft leaders’ declaration on Friday. The document includes several references to climate change — a point opposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly questioned scientific consensus on human-caused global warming.
One source confirmed that despite U.S. resistance, climate language remained in the draft, aligning with South Africa’s priorities for the summit.
Three of South Africa’s four top agenda items focus on climate-related issues:
Preparing for climate-driven disasters
Financing the shift to green energy
Ensuring producer nations benefit from the global demand for critical minerals
The fourth priority concerns creating fairer borrowing terms for developing countries — another area where the U.S. has expressed reservations.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had hoped to use the Johannesburg summit to highlight South Africa’s renewed leadership in global diplomacy. While the U.S. absence casts a shadow over the proceedings, some analysts say it could allow other G20 members to push forward on climate commitments and debt relief initiatives without U.S. resistance.
Still, it remains unclear what compromises were required for the draft declaration to gain full support among member states, several of which are traditionally cautious about climate language.
The United States is scheduled to host the G20 in 2026. Ramaphosa noted that he would be handing over the rotating presidency to “an empty chair” due to the boycott. South Africa also declined the White House’s offer to send the U.S. chargé d’affaires to represent the country in the traditional presidency handover.
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