South Africa hosts G20 Environment & Climate meeting

G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group

Skukuza, Mpumalanga — From 14 to 18 July 2025, South Africa is convening the 2nd technical meeting of the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) at the iconic Kruger National Park, under the theme of Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability. The event forms the centerpiece of South Africa’s G20 environmental agenda.

Over 250 delegates from G20 nations, invited countries, international organisations, and media will engage in high-level discussions across key themes: biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, waste and chemicals, air quality, and ocean governance. The meeting builds on momentum from the first virtual session held in March.

As part of the agenda, Environment Minister Dion George will spearhead two flagship legacy initiatives:

• Launch of the Rhino Renaissance Campaign, which includes a live rhino dehorning demonstration conducted by SANParks Veterinary Services to showcase anti–anti-wildlife-crime strategies.

• A symbolic tree‑planting ceremony—20 trees, one for each G20 member—outside the Nombolo Mdluli Conference Centre, under South Africa’s National Greening Programme, aimed at planting 10 million trees in five years.

 

 

Additional legacy efforts include the launch of The Pangolin Pact, a school-awareness campaign announced on 18 July, to educate youth about wildlife trafficking threats and conservation across pangolins, rhinos, and lions.

The ECSWG meeting is the second of three technical sessions during South Africa’s G20 presidency, with the next scheduled in October in Cape Town, and a ministerial summit planned at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens or Table Mountain later in the year.