G20 leaders meet in South Africa seeking agreement, despite US boycott

22/11/2025 12:06

Leaders of the Group of 20 top economies gathered for a U.S.-boycotted summit in South Africa on Saturday, seeking a deal on a draft declaration drawn up without U.S. input in a surprise move that a senior White House official described as "shameful".



G20 envoys have agreed on a draft leaders' declaration ahead of the weekend summit in Johannesburg, in which several of the top agenda items are about climate change. The draft was drawn up without seeking U.S. consensus, four sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.



One of those sources confirmed late on Friday that the draft made references to climate change, despite objections from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who doubts the scientific consensus that warming is caused by human activities.



Trump has indicated that it will boycott the summit because of allegations, widely discredited, that the host country's Black majority government persecutes its white minority.



The U.S. president has also rejected the host nation's agenda of promoting solidarity and helping developing nations adapt to weather disasters, transition to clean energy and cut their excessive debt costs.