South Africa’s Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Dr. Dion George, will participate in a high-level joint meeting of Ministers of Finance, Climate and Environment, Foreign Affairs, and Governors of Central Banks.
The meeting will take place in Washington DC, USA, on 24 October 2024, under the G20 Taskforce on Global Mobilization against Climate Change (TF-CLIMA).
The G20 task force, established by the Brazilian G20 Presidency, represents a coordinated effort to address the global climate crisis by integrating both the G20 Sherpa and Finance tracks for the first time. This initiative forms part of the broader G20 Climate and Environment Sustainability Working Group.
In anticipation of the meeting, Dr George emphasized the significance of the gathering, saying, “The joint Ministerial session is a culmination of the discussions held throughout the year at the officials’ level under the various TF-CLIMA working group meetings.”
South Africa’s delegation to the meeting will include representatives from the National Treasury, the South African Reserve Bank, and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
The joint ministerial session is expected to discuss and adopt two key documents: the Ministerial Statement and the Outcome Document.
As South Africa prepares to take on the G20 Presidency in 2025, Dr. George underscored the importance of continuing collaborative efforts in climate finance.
“It would be important to continue the fruitful discussions between Environment and Finance Experts and Ministers to advance Climate Finance deliberations,” he said.