G20 PLENARY SESSION MINISTERIAL COMMUNIQUE INTERVENTION 4 October 2024
I join my colleagues in thanking the Brazilian G20 Presidency under the leadership today of His Excellency, Alexandre Silveria de Oliveira, the Minister of Mines and Energy, for such a warm welcome and your words of encouragement. We hope that our joint efforts as G20 members, including the African Union and the European Union, will continue to strengthen global energy security, create sustainable energy systems and people-centred just transitions, while accelerating efforts for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change. South Africa believes that forums such as the G20 play a vital role in shaping global discussions and decision-making on sustainable energy systems and people-centred just transitions, in a manner that is supportive of developing economies. I believe that the Brazilian G20 Presidency has advanced important discussions, decision-making, and policy development that builds on the excellent work done by preceding G20 presidencies. I look forward to continuing these discussions and developments at the upcoming COP 29 to be hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November this year. I wish to commit to my fellow G20 members that South Africa will continue to build on this legacy, to advance the agenda of the just energy transition that is based on G20 principles, and to work with all countries and organisations here to build a truly sustainable future for our planet. We cannot waiver in our commitment to this goal, and we cannot do it alone. For this is a collaborative effort, drawing on our individual strengths and talents, and combining them for shared progress. The work we do today in pursuit of greater goals that will be felt by generations to come, must be selfless, universal, and transformative. I welcome the next G20 Presidency coming to the African continent, where today, the largest proportion of the world’s youth calls home. The next generation will be African, and to ignore it is to ignore our shared future. The people-centred just transition must include a dedicated focus on youth, women, and people with disabilities. Without universal access to energy, the youth have no future. Without universal access to energy, the already unfair burden on women becomes greater. Without universal access to energy, people with disabilities will only be further marginalised. Real and just empowerment cannot ignore this, and we must direct our efforts to achieve a truly just transition. Above all, the just energy transition must be fully committed to clean, and renewable energy. And the first step is to ensure that this is affordable energy. Universal access to energy that is unaffordable is pointless, and will only hold back economic growth and job creation. We are encouraged by Brazil’s priority of “Accelerating Financing for Energy Transitions, especially in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies”. We are also encouraged by convergence of the views shared by member countries, including the AU and EU, on the importance of this priority to help address the energy transitions in the context of developing economies. As we implement the just transition, we must acknowledge the role of sustainable fuels, such as green hydrogen, green aviation fuel, biogas, and biofuels. Our collective efforts must prioritise these if we are to create the seismic shift in the global energy economy that tips us towards our 2050 net-zero goal. Critical minerals will also play a vital role in the just transition, and Africa is home to some of the largest deposits of these. Ensuring sustainable access to these critical minerals in a way that reverses the history of extraction and exploitation without benefit to local communities must become an unwavering commitment of this forum. South Africa’s adoption of the UN Report on Critical Minerals speaks to this commitment, and will play a key role in our priorities for 2025. In conclusion, I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Brazilian G20 Presidency for their exceptional work in 2024 to driving and advancing the agenda of the G20, and I look forward to bringing the G20 Presidency to South Africa in 2025 to further advance our collaboration and build consensus that ensures the progress of the just and sustainable transition. I thank you Chair.