As the world faces the threat of a reduced global output in the coming years due to climate impacts, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dr Dion George has stressed the importance of Group Twenty (G20) nations investing in sustainability.
Addressing third and final meeting of the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group in Cape Town, George pointed out that the G20 is the principal forum where economic and environmental priorities intersect.
READ | G20 environmental group meetings to be held in Cape Town
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“Its members represent more than 85% of global Gross Domestic Product, around 75% of trade, and about 80% of greenhouse-gas emissions. That reach brings both capacity and duty,” the Minister said on Monday.
Research has warned 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,” George said.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the world growth is projected to grow at about three percent in 2025, with performance diverging across regions and fiscal space tightening in many developing economies.
“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,” George said.
The G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group is taking place under South Africa’s G20 Presidency under the theme: “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.”
Under South Africa’s Presidency, government has worked to ensure that the duty of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions 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.
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“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,” the Minister said.
The work of South Africa’s Presidency aligns with the global and continental frameworks that guide sustainable development.
At the global level, the work is guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Conventions on climate, biodiversity, and desertification.
The work also looks at the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the African Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy, which 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,” the Minister said.