South Africas G20 Presidency: Placing African Concerns on the Global Table

This research paper outlines the priorities of South Africa's 2025 G20 presidency, which focuses on the theme "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability." The document details South Africa's efforts to center African developmental concerns within the G20, specifically targeting debt sustainability, climate adaptation finance, and the mitigation of illicit financial flows to ensure the grouping remains relevant amidst global fragmentation.

• South Africa's G20 presidency priorities are centered on the theme "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability" and focus on four critical areas: scaling up post-disaster reconstruction for disaster resilience; seeking sustainable solutions for high structural deficits and liquidity challenges to ensure debt sustainability for low-income countries; mobilizing high-quality finance for a just energy transition; and utilizing critical minerals for sustainable development and inclusive growth.
• Sub-Saharan Africa faces severe debt challenges, with external debt growing from $425.8 billion in 2012 to $815.7 billion in 2021. The impact is significant, as 23 African nations spend more on debt servicing than on education or health. Additionally, a perceived risk premium in credit ratings results in African countries paying approximately $75 billion in interest.
• The G20’s Common Framework for Debt Treatments is described as inadequate and slow, evidenced by negotiations taking over 3.5 years for Zambia and over a year for Chad. South Africa intends to improve this framework by incorporating perspectives from borrower countries and developing a comprehensive approach to prevent countries from falling into debt distress, including the development of local-currency markets.
• South Africa is prioritizing the scaling up of adaptation-finance mechanisms because African countries are responsible for less than 4% of global emissions yet face an annual adaptation-finance gap of up to US$366 billion. Only 5% of global climate funding currently targets adaptation.
• To enhance climate finance, South Africa proposes a "Common Carbon Credit Data Model" to standardize carbon markets. This follows a UNECA study suggesting that high-integrity carbon credits for afforestation and reforestation could generate up to $82 billion annually for African countries.
• Africa loses US$88.6 billion annually—approximately 3.7% of its GDP—to illicit financial flows (IFFs). In 2025, South Africa aims to produce a "call to action on IFFs" consisting of 10 global principles to improve financial governance, transparency, and compliance.
• The South African Reserve Bank governor has suggested that the G20 should be more "intentional" with its agenda to ensure discussions are focused on the top two or three priorities each year, rather than an overly broad scope.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2025). South Africas G20 Presidency: Placing African Concerns on the Global Table. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africas-g20-presidency-placing-african-concerns-on-the-global-table/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. South Africas G20 Presidency: Placing African Concerns on the Global Table. 2025. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africas-g20-presidency-placing-african-concerns-on-the-global-table/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=South Africas G20 Presidency: Placing African Concerns on the Global Table |date=27 June 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africas-g20-presidency-placing-african-concerns-on-the-global-table/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2025south, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{South Africas G20 Presidency: Placing African Concerns on the Global Table}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africas-g20-presidency-placing-african-concerns-on-the-global-table/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }