The Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, successfully adopted a final declaration on Saturday despite a boycott by the United States and strong opposition from the Trump administration to key aspects of the agenda. The declaration, which addresses the climate crisis and other global challenges, was drafted without US input in a move a White House official denounced as “shameful.”
G20 Summit in South Africa Adopts Declaration Despite US Boycott, Oppositionhttps://t.co/LNBRVNCKQQ
— Asharq Al-Awsat English (@aawsat_eng) November 22, 2025
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated there was “overwhelming consensus” for the final document, emphasizing that the declaration “can’t be renegotiated.” The adopted text includes language historically opposed by the Trump administration, such as stressing the seriousness of climate change, praising ambitious targets to boost renewable energy, and noting the punishing debt service suffered by poor countries.
The US decision to boycott the summit was publicly linked by President Trump to widely discredited claims that South Africa’s Black majority government persecutes its white minority. However, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola stressed that the “multilateral platform cannot be paralyzed” by the absence of one invited member, insisting, “This G20 is not about the US. It’s about all the 21 members of the G20.” In a related diplomatic protocol issue, the South African presidency firmly rejected a US offer to send a junior embassy official for the G20 handover, stating it was a “breach of protocol.”
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