At the third G20 environment and climate sustainability working group (ECSWG) meeting
Distinguished delegates from G20 Member Countries and Invited Guest Countries,
Representatives from International Organisations,
Representatives from South African Institutions and Partners,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honour to welcome you to Cape Town and to open the third and final meeting of the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group under South Africa’s Presidency.
It is fitting that we meet here in Cape Town, where mountain and ocean meet, where natural beauty and human enterprise coexist, and where every view reminds us of the link between nature, people, and prosperity. From this point at the southern tip of Africa, we look outward to the world with a single purpose: to strengthen cooperation and move from words to action.
We meet at a time of great environmental complexity. Temperatures continue to rise, species are disappearing at unprecedented rates, and the frequency of extreme weather events is increasing. These are not distant warnings. They are lived realities. Crops are failing from drought. Homes are lost to floods. Health systems strain under heat and pollution.
Our deliberations this week will guide the decisions that Ministers take later in the week. These decisions will shape how we respond to this reality with urgency and fairness. We cannot control every event, but we can control how united and how determined our response will be.
When we first met in March, we set a clear objective. We resolved to advance solidarity, equality, and sustainability as the principles of our work and to ensure that the G20 acts decisively to address the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
Since that first meeting, the Working Group has turned plans into progress. We have produced twenty
technical papers across six priority areas. These documents now form the basis for the deliberations that will conclude this week in what will be known as the Cape Town Declaration.
The Declaration will not simply summarise our work. It will represent the first G20 environmental outcome crafted on African soil and the start of a new phase of practical cooperation between economies that together shape most of the world’s output, trade, and emissions.
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From Vision to Implementation
This meeting is about delivery. Our task is to ensure that policy commitments translate into results that can be measured and sustained. The outcomes from these discussions will feed directly into the Ministerial meeting and later into the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
South Africa’s Presidency has placed emphasis on implementation credibility. A plan without delivery is only a promise. The test of leadership is execution. Implementation must be designed into every policy, with clear responsibilities, costings, and timelines.
Cooperation builds confidence. Investors need confidence that environmental policy is stable and transparent. Communities need confidence that the transition will protect livelihoods. Young people need confidence that green growth means real opportunity.
When we show that multilateral processes deliver, we restore faith in cooperation itself. That is the quiet power of meetings such as this one: they turn global goodwill into action that improves lives.
A World in Transition
Our work unfolds in a shifting global landscape. The International Monetary Fund projects world growth at about three percent in 2025, with performance diverging across regions and fiscal space tightening in many developing economies. At the same time, research warns that climate impacts could reduce global output by several percentage points by mid-century if emissions continue unchecked.
Yet decisive climate action is good economics. Investments in clean technology, renewable energy, and efficient systems generate employment and competitiveness. Energy security, public health, and food stability all benefit when we invest in sustainability.
The financing gap for sustainable development has widened to around four trillion US dollars a year. Public budgets cannot meet this need alone. We must expand blended-finance models, use green bonds and taxonomies, and bring private capital into public purpose. Fiscal responsibility and climate ambition must work together.
For many developing nations this is not a choice between growth and sustainability. It is the same agenda expressed through fairness and innovation.
The Role of the G20
The G20 is the principal forum where economic and environmental priorities intersect. Its members represent more than 85 percent of global GDP, around 75 percent of trade, and about 80 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions. That reach brings both capacity and duty.
Under South Africa’s Presidency, we have worked to ensure that this duty is exercised with fairness and integrity. The transition must include every region. The rules that govern it must be shaped by all.
Our approach has been practical. We have focused on turning declarations into measurable programmes and pilot projects into replicable models. We have encouraged countries to align environmental policy with growth strategy so that sustainability becomes a source of strength, not a constraint.
The G20 can demonstrate that environmental responsibility drives economic performance. When governments invest in climate-resilient infrastructure, cleaner production, and ecosystem protection, they secure long-term stability and investor confidence.
Coherence Across Frameworks
Our work aligns with the global and continental frameworks that guide sustainable development.
At the global level, we remain guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Conventions on climate, biodiversity, and desertification.
At the continental level, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the African Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy outline Africa’s pathway toward low-carbon and climate-resilient growth.
At the national level, South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030 and the Climate Change Act 2024, assented to on 23 July 2024 and commenced on 17 March 2025, anchor sustainability within our economic planning.
These frameworks express one idea: development and environmental responsibility are not separate objectives but parts of the same goal of human progress.
Progress Across the Six Priority Areas
Allow me to highlight our shared progress.
1. Biodiversity and Conservation
We have reaffirmed that biodiversity underpins sustainable development. Implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans is central to the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We have also strengthened cooperation against crimes that affect the environment, including illegal wildlife trade. Protecting ecosystems supports jobs, food security, and economic stability.
2. Land Degradation, Desertification, Drought and Water Sustainability
Land and water systems are under strain. We have promoted regenerative farming, restoration of degraded landscapes, and the protection of vulnerable landholders. Integrated water-resource management remains essential to climate adaptation and food production. Water security is the foundation of climate resilience.
3. Chemicals and Waste Management
We have advanced circular-economy practices and reaffirmed our collective goal to end plastic pollution. The G20 continues to support the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee that is developing a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution covering the full life cycle of plastics. Cleaner production and waste-to-value innovation are creating new industries and employment.
4. Climate Change
Finance, technology, and capacity-building remain at the centre of our discussions. Adaptation, loss and damage, and resilience are priorities. We have underlined that decarbonisation and growth reinforce each other. The G20 must show that low-carbon pathways improve competitiveness and public wellbeing.
5. Air Quality
For the first time, air quality has been placed firmly on the G20 agenda. Air pollution is one of the largest environmental health risks, linked to around seven million premature deaths each year, with recent studies estimating 8.1 million in 2021. Our experts have started work on shared data, consistent monitoring, and coordinated responses.
6. Oceans and Coasts
Healthy oceans regulate climate and sustain livelihoods. We have focused on marine spatial planning, coastal resilience, and the blue economy as drivers of sustainable development. We have also renewed efforts to curb marine plastic pollution and to protect coral reefs and mangroves.
These six priorities form one connected effort. They link the stability of the natural world to the wellbeing of societies and economies.
Science and Innovation
Sound policy depends on sound evidence. Across every area we have seen the value of science, data, and collaboration.
South African institutions such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the South African National Biodiversity Institute, and our universities are working with partners from other G20 countries on climate modelling, biodiversity monitoring, and green technology. Their work demonstrates that progress follows when knowledge is shared.
The involvement of young scientists and women researchers strengthens this cooperation and helps to shape a more inclusive scientific community. The G20 Research and Innovation Initiative continues to provide an important platform for joint work and capacity-building.
Science gives us clarity. Partnership turns that clarity into action.
A Foundation for the Cape Town Declaration
The work achieved under South Africa’s Presidency builds on that of previous G20 Presidencies and adds an African perspective that places fairness and delivery at the centre of the agenda.
The outcomes of this meeting will become the foundation of the Cape Town Declaration, which Ministers will adopt later this week. It will affirm three clear commitments:
- to accelerate implementation of existing international agreements;
- to deepen cooperation between developed and developing countries through finance, technology, and capacity support; and
- to strengthen transparency and accountability across all areas of environmental action.
The Declaration will complement the progress made in previous G20 presidencies and provide continuity for the Troika into 2026. It will also confirm that Africa’s experience and leadership are vital to global environmental governance.
Hosting this meeting is a privilege and a responsibility. The Cape Town Declaration will stand as a blueprint for practical cooperation, rooted in evidence and focused on delivery. It will carry the message that environmental stewardship is not a cost but an investment in shared prosperity.
Looking Ahead
In the days ahead, delegates will participate in technical sessions, side events, and field visits that bring our agenda to life.
At the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, you will see how conservation and research intersect. Aboard the S.A. Agulhas II, you will witness South Africa’s work in ocean and polar science. Along the Cape Peninsula, you will encounter communities engaged in restoration and coastal management.
These experiences show that environmental protection drives innovation and economic opportunity. They remind us that the transition to sustainability is already under way. Our task is to scale what works and ensure that policy keeps pace with innovation.
The insights gathered here will shape the Cape Town Declaration and guide the G20’s work in future Presidencies. Together, we can strengthen the bridge between scientific evidence, economic policy, and social inclusion.
Conclusion
This is a moment of significance. For the first time, the G20’s environment and climate deliberations are being held on African soil. That fact alone carries weight. It shows that Africa is not at the edge of global discussions but at their centre.
The work we complete here will influence national policies, global frameworks, and individual lives. It will demonstrate that cooperation remains the most powerful tool for progress and that facts, trust, and partnership can still unite nations.
Let the Cape Town Declaration stand as proof that global cooperation can deliver results that are fair, practical, and lasting. It will be remembered as the first G20 environmental declaration shaped in Africa and as a symbol of partnership between continents.
As we begin these final deliberations, I invite you to speak plainly, listen carefully, and work together with purpose. Let us leave Cape Town with outcomes that are strong, clear, and ready for action.
The world expects the G20 to lead with integrity and foresight. Together, we can meet that expectation and show that progress is not a promise for tomorrow but a commitment we make today.
I thank you.