Ukraine and climate change are expected to be on the agenda at the G20 summit of major economies, which opens Saturday in Johannesburg, in the absence of Donald Trump.

The US president is boycotting the summit, which is being held in Africa for the first time, but his plan to end the war in Ukraine has already gained traction in the debates in South Africa.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that European leaders in Johannesburg would meet on Saturday to discuss the matter on the sidelines of the G20.

The discussions scheduled for the afternoon on climate will also be closely followed, at a time when the COP30 climate negotiations in Brazil appear to be at an impasse.

On Friday, the last official day of the meeting in Belém in the Amazon, discussions stalled on the question of a possible roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, and the EU did not rule out that this COP30 would end without an agreement.

What was the result?

The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union, and represents 85% of global GDP and about two-thirds of the population.

The Johannesburg summit is set to be symbolic: organized for the first time in Africa, it also marks the end of a cycle of G20 presidencies by countries of the "Global South", after Indonesia (2022), India (2023) and Brazil (2024).

But the South African government has been targeted by Donald Trump since his return to the White House.

For its G20 presidency this year, Pretoria has listed among its priorities the creation of an international panel on economic inequality, similar to the IPCC for climate.

Debt relief, minerals for the energy transition, which are abundant on the continent, and artificial intelligence are also on the agenda of the summit scheduled to run until Sunday.

Will South African President Cyril Ramaphosa succeed in getting a joint declaration adopted by the leaders present, and with what ambition?

"We hope to see the leaders' declaration adopted, which will set a new and sustainable agenda for the world, especially the G20," he reaffirmed on Friday.

The United States opposed the release of a final G20 communiqué, citing their absence from a summit whose "priorities run counter" to Washington's political views.

A draft declaration has been finalized and will be sent to the leaders, a South African diplomatic source and a South African government source told AFP.

The document's usual title - "Declaration of G20 Leaders" - has been changed, the two sources added, without disclosing its contents.

Multilateralism

Throughout their presidency, the South Africans presented themselves as ardent defenders of multilateralism, of which the G20 is one of the instruments.

"Multilateralism is our best, perhaps our only, defense against upheaval, violence and chaos. And South Africa has put multilateralism into practice," said European Council President Antonio Costa from Johannesburg.

Donald Trump, for his part, is pursuing his protectionist offensive at breakneck speed and has withdrawn the United States from several international bodies in recent months. He notably initiated the second American withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and sent no official delegation to COP30 in Brazil.

The United States must nevertheless assume the rotating presidency of the G20 after South Africa. The Trump administration has announced its intention to focus the summit on issues of economic cooperation.

AFP