From rhetoric to results? The G20's test in Johannesburg

AS SOUTH Africa prepares to host the G20 summit in Johannesburg this November, the stakes could not be higher.

- CHLOE MALULEKE

For the Global South, the central question is not about the spectacle of leaders gathered for photo opportunities or the diplomatic choreography that accompanies these meetings.

Itis whether the G20 can translate its global forum status into real, lasting improvements for developing societies, or whether it will continue to be dismissed as a grand stage for rhetoric.

The anxieties shaping this debate were laid bare at the African Climate Summit earlier this month. Kenya's President, William Ruto, used the platform to deliver a stinging rebuke to Western nations, accusing them of breaking what he called a climate blood pact.

His message was stark. Africa contributes just 4% of global emissions, yet it bears the greatest burden of climate devastation, from droughts and floods to food insecurity.

His frustration was widely shared by African leaders and climate scholars who see climate finance pledges consistently missed, rebranded, or watered down.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) compounded this sense of betrayal when it projected that aid flows to Africa would likely decline through 2027, backsliding to levels not seen since 2020.

For a continent grappling with escalating climate emergencies, this is not just disappointing, it is devastating.

Climate finance is another area where the gap between promise and delivery undermines trust.

In 2009, rich nations pledged to mobilise $100 billion annually to support developing countries in tackling climate change.

Yet by 2021, actual flows reached only $89.6 billion, and even that figure was inflated by loans counted as aid. For countries like South Africa, which continue to struggle with persistent load-shedding, collapsing infrastructure, and rising inequality, half-meas-ures and creative accounting are of little use.