WHAT IS THE G20 ?

The G20 is a consensus-seeking dialogue mechanism established in 1999 to address global financial crises, comprising 19 countries, the European Union, and the African Union. It operates through a rotating presidency—with South Africa hosting in 2025—and is organized into Finance and Sherpa tracks. While it lacks a formal international mandate or binding decision-making power, it provides a platform for global economic coordination and civil society engagement via 'Engagement Groups' such as the C20.

• The G20 is a non-binding dialogue mechanism rather than a formal international organization, lacking a secretariat, charter, or the ability to make binding decisions.
• The G20's membership includes 19 nations, the European Union, and the African Union (admitted in 2023), collectively representing 85% of global GDP and over 75% of global trade.
• Operations are divided into the Finance Track, which focuses on economic and financial issues through seven working groups, and the Sherpa Track, which manages negotiations and summit preparations through fifteen working groups.
• South Africa's 2025 G20 presidency priorities include reducing inequality, promoting inclusive economic growth, ensuring food security, mobilizing climate finance, and managing debt sustainability.
• South Africa has established three specific task forces for its 2025 presidency: one on Inclusive Economic Growth, Industrialisation, Employment and Reduced Inequality; one on Food Security; and one on Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance and Innovation for Sustainable Development.
• Civil society can influence the G20 through Engagement Groups, most notably the C20 (Civil 20), which organizes into ten working groups to produce policy briefs and recommendations.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2025). WHAT IS THE G20 ? https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IEJ-G20factsheet1-What-is-the-G20-web-1.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. WHAT IS THE G20 ? 2025. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IEJ-G20factsheet1-What-is-the-G20-web-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=WHAT IS THE G20 ? |date=August 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IEJ-G20factsheet1-What-is-the-G20-web-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2025what, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{WHAT IS THE G20 ?}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IEJ-G20factsheet1-What-is-the-G20-web-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }