G20 defies US boycott and adopts joint statement

Countries cite climate finance and call for peace in Ukraine. Text is more lenient on the super-rich than the previous one, agreed in Rio de Janeiro. USA boycotted event.

World leaders present at the G20 summit in South Africa adopted a declaration on global challenges this Saturday (22/11), despite opposition from the United States. The country boycotted the event and put pressure on there to be no joint resolution.

The measure broke with protocol, as statements of this type are usually approved and released only at the end of G20 summits. The current meeting should only end on Sunday.

The 122-point declaration called for more global action to tackle climate change.

Approved on the same day that COP30 negotiations ended in Brazil, leaders recognized that investments and climate finance need to be expanded “from billions to trillions globally, from all sources.”

The text also addressed the need to reform international financial systems to help low-income countries deal with their debts.

The language about taxing the super-rich was softer than in the previous G20 statement, held in Rio de Janeiro, where leaders had agreed for the first time to “ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed.”

The representatives also called for a “just, comprehensive and lasting peace” in Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the “Occupied Territory of Palestine”, based on the UN Charter.

Although Ukraine appeared only once in the document’s 30 pages, Western leaders at the summit mobilized in parallel to discuss a U.S.-proposed peace plan that would end the war on terms considered favorable to Russia.

US boycotts event

This year’s summit was marked by President Donald Trump’s decision not to send an American delegation. South African officials said Washington pressured the country not to adopt a declaration in its absence. “We must not allow anything to diminish the value, stature and impact of the first African G20 presidency,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his opening speech.

Although the world’s largest economy boycotted the meeting, Ramaphosa argued that the G20 continues to play an essential role in international cooperation.

“The G20 highlights the value and relevance of multilateralism. It recognizes that the challenges we face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership”, declared the summit host.

Despite Ramaphosa’s optimism, French President Emmanuel Macron noted that “the G20 may be reaching the end of a cycle.”

“We live in a geopolitical moment in which we have difficulty resolving major crises together around this table, including with members who are not present today,” said Macron.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed with the warning. “There is no doubt, the road ahead is difficult. We need to find ways to once again play a constructive role in the face of global challenges,” he said.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who participated in President Xi Jinping’s place, declared that “unilateralism and protectionism are rampant”.

Lula defends debt exchange for climate action

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended the taxation of the super-rich and the exchange of debts from the poorest countries for investments in development and consistent climate action.

“It is time to declare inequality a global emergency and redesign rules and institutions that sustain asymmetries,” he said when defending South Africa’s proposal to create an Independent Panel on Inequality, along the lines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a debate led by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

On the occasion, Lula also praised the effort made at COP30 to reach a declaration that, according to him, is based on science. Brazil’s initial objective of including in the text a “road map” to end the use of fossil fuels, however, did not make it into the final agreement.

Originally published by DW on 11/22/2025