Guterres Urges G20 to Show Leadership and Vision in SA

UN Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the media at the G20 Summit in South Africa.

A South African flag-coloured King Protea flower – symbolising hope and regeneration – is the official logo for this year’s G20 Leaders’ Summit, being held on African soil for the first time.

“Now is the time for leadership and vision,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told journalists in Johannesburg on Friday, a day before the official opening.

The G20 bloc comprises the world’s largest economies, although the United States has announced it will not officially participate.

This year’s summit focuses on climate adaptation and sustainable financing, under the theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.”

The UN chief is attending the summit to press for economic and climate action, as well as an end to escalating conflicts around the world.

‘Woefully under-represented’

Developing countries, especially in Africa, are suffering from shrinking fiscal space, crushing debt burdens and a global financial architecture that is failing them, Mr Guterres said.

He lamented that after decades of colonial rule, the continent remains “woefully under-represented” in global institutions.

“The G20 can help repair this historic injustice and drive reforms that give developing countries – and Africa in particular – a real voice in shaping global policies, and make global economic governance more inclusive, representative, equitable and effective in the years ahead,” he said.

Economic action

Mr Guterres called on the G20 to honour the commitments made in June at the Financing for Development Conference in Sevilla, where countries pledged to unlock more financing to support sustainable growth.

That includes tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks, reducing borrowing costs and enabling developing countries to mobilise domestic resources.

Climate action

Countries have failed to limit global warming to 1.5°C, Mr Guterres warned.

“Avoiding more climate chaos means urgently bridging the adaptation gap,” he said, stressing the need to scale up financing — including doubling adaptation funding to at least $40 billion this year.

He added that although 90 per cent of new power capacity is now coming from renewables and global investment in clean energy reached $2 trillion last year, only a negligible share went to Africa.

“Africa should be at the heart of this clean energy revolution,” he said.

Action for peace

Citing devastating conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine and Gaza, Mr Guterres urged G20 members to use their influence to help end the fighting.