• White House calls process ‘shameful’ as Trump boycotts event
• Leaders warn of fracture in multilateralism

JOHANNESBURG: A Group of 20 leaders’ summit in South Africa adopted a declaration addressing the climate crisis and other global challenges on Saturday after it was drafted without US input, a move a White House official called “shameful”.

The declaration, using language Washington has opposed, “can’t be renegotiated”, South African Pre­sident Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson told reporters. “We had the entire year of working towards this adoption and the past week has been quite intense,” the spokesperson said.

President Ramaphosa, hosting the weekend gathering in Johannes­burg, said earlier there was “overwhelming consensus” for the summit declaration.

Envoys from the G20 drew up the draft on Friday without US involvement, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

The document utilised language long disliked by the Trump administration, stressing the seriousness of climate change and the need to better adapt to it. It praised ambitious targets to boost renewable energy and noted the punishing levels of debt service suffered by poor countries.

The inclusion of climate change language served as a snub to US President Donald Trump, who has doubted the scientific consensus that global warming is caused by human activities. US officials had previously indicated they would oppose such references.

“We should not allow anything to diminish the value, the stature and the impact of the first African G20 presidency,” Ramaphosa said in his opening remarks.

His bold tone presented a striking contrast to his subdued decorum during a visit to the White House in August. During that meeting, Ramaphosa endured Trump repeating a false claim that there was a genocide of white farmers in South Africa. Trump subsequently said US officials would not attend because of allegations that the host country persecutes its white minority.

‘Geopolitical fractures’

The G20’s role in fixing economic crises is threatened by geopolitical fractures, leaders warned, however, despite the boycott, Ramaphosa downplayed Trump’s absence and argued the G20 remained key for international cooperation.

However, French President Emmanuel Macron warned during the summit that “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle.” Speaking at the opening, Macron noted that leaders are “struggling to resolve major crises together around this table”.

In a sign of other geopolitical fissures, EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen warned in a speech about “the weaponisation of dependencies.” This was a reference to China’s export curbs on rare earths vital for the energy transition.

While the US skipped the summit, it still intended to take up the G20 baton for the next gathering. Trump plans to stage that summit in 2026 at a Florida golf club he owns.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2025