The Group of 20, a bloc of nations consisting nineteen countries, the European Union and more recently the African Union met in Cape Town, South Africa last week. The Group convened for their Summit from 26 February, Wednesday however an awkward situation arose when they could not reach a binding agreement by consensus on climate change. The absence of US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent among other finance chiefs who did not attend added fuel to the fire.
Finance ministers gathered in Cape Town for a meeting of the Group of 20 wealthy economies failed to reach consensus on a range of issues such as climate financing. The lack of agreement meant the group was unable to issue a communique, and instead released a summary of the proceedings. “Since the Russia-Ukraine war it has been difficult to find a joint communique,” South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said in a closing briefing on Thursday. At this meeting, “new differences have emerged on a number of other topics, which make it difficult to have the joint communique,” including on climate finance, he said. President Donald Trump has attacked renewable energy and climate programs since taking office on Jan. 20.
His Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipped this week’s meeting – after Secretary of State Marco Rubio snubbed a similar foreign-ministers’ gathering last week — specifically citing South Africa’s theme and its focus on equality and climate change.
This year’s summit has exposed a clash of egos rather than a gathering of delegates from the world’s most powerful economies who want to find solutions to the world’s problems. The failure of the representative delegations to agree on a consensus stems not only from a failure to end the Russia-Ukraine war, but also a failure to resolve the more recent trade dispute between the United States and China. Beijing also did not send a delegation to attend the Cape Town Summit. Of course, South Africa and President Cyril Ramaphosa cannot be blamed for the dismal situation. US President Trump has not been diplomatic concerning his relations with the BRICS nation, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa who are all members of G20. The desire of the BRICS bloc to create its own unifying reserve currency in opposition to the US Dollar is at the core of Washington’s enmity.
The notable absence of the India, China from the summit and Japan which has been given the cold shoulder by Washington can be attributed to this. (Tokyo it should be noted is not a member of BRICS).
The summary added they had “supported a rules-based, non-discriminatory, fair, open, inclusive, equitable, sustainable and transparent multilateral trading system,” using several words the Trump administration has already strongly objected to. But the talks were overshadowed by the absence of several key finance chiefs – such as from the United States, China, India and Japan – and foreign aid cuts by major economies like the United States and Britain, against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions. However, finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s leading economies pushed ahead at the Cape Town gathering just a week after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio snubbed a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, complaining of its “anti-Americanism.”
In the case of US President Donald Trump, he may have been a successful businessman, but he lacks the diplomatic tact and patience to be a great statesman. Trump wants the US to be enclosed and following an isolation policy rather than support a bilateral and mutually beneficial world order. Trump is uninterested in revaluating the World Trade Organization (WTO) along the lines of a rules-based, non-discriminatory, fair, open, inclusive, equitable, sustainable and transparent multilateral trading system. The United Kingdom for its part seems to be more pre-occupied with having to regrow its economy following their departure from the EU in 2016 (Brexit). The fact that neither Trump’s Treasury Secretary nor his Secretary of State were in attendance shows the US president’s uncompromising attitude.
The world should have been weary, of Trump’s return to the White House when his administration resumed the construction of the wall on the Mexican border and his promotion of oil drilling within US territory.
It looks like Ramaphosa’s hosting of this year’s rotational G 20 summit will be a national humiliation for him rather than a triumph of approval for his leadership.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
