G20 ministers call for urgent action to bridge climate financing gap

CAPE TOWN, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Group of 20 (G20) Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group Ministerial Meeting opened Thursday in Cape Town, South Africa, marking a decade since the adoption of the Paris Agreement.

Opening the two-day meeting, South Africa's Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George said the world is facing a "triple planetary crisis" of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

"The urgency for decisive and united action has never been greater. It demands that we strengthen multilateral cooperation, scale up innovation, and move from commitment to implementation," he said.

He noted that the global financing gap for sustainable development had widened from 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars to 4 trillion dollars, emphasizing that public resources alone could not bridge this shortfall.

"It requires private capital, blended-finance instruments, and partnerships that de-risk sustainable investment and accelerate innovation across the developing world," the minister noted.

George said South Africa's G20 presidency aims to bridge developed and developing economies, fostering inclusive growth, just transitions, and sustainable industrialization in line with the Paris Agreement.

Delivering the keynote address, Joanna MacGregor, chief of strategy and United Nations (UN) affairs at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat, described the Paris Agreement as "the most powerful instrument humanity has built to confront the climate crisis."

She highlighted record renewable energy investments across major economies, including India, China, and the European Union, with Brazil and Indonesia leading forest restoration, and South Africa and Saudi Arabia advancing clean energy transitions.

Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs, and Development Planning Anton Bredell cautioned that delays in action would exponentially increase adaptation costs, while Western Cape Premier Alan Winde warned that rising global military spending starkly contrasted with declining climate finance.

Solidarity and financing remain key to turning ambition into action and ensuring the Paris Agreement's vision is realized through cooperation and innovation, George concluded. ■