Reflections on the G20 Summits and the Power of People’s Spaces
The G20, or the Group of Twenty is the primary international forum for the largest and most developed economies. It is a forum for international cooperation, where global economics and progress is negotiated and discussed.
Simply put, it is the world’s global economic gathering, featuring countries that collectively represent approximately 85% of the world’s GDP, over 75% of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population. Although the decisions made at the G20 are not legally binding, they hold a lot of political influence, impacting national policies and the work of international organisations globally. In 2025 South Africa served as the first African president of the G20 under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability”. In addition to the G20 Leaders Summit which took place on 22-23 November, there were several adjacent events taking place in an attempt to include various sectors.
The Social Summit
The G20 Social Summit was hosted by the South African Department of Social Development from 18–20 November 2025 in Johannesburg. This space was created to convene civil society ahead of the official G20 Leaders Summit, with the aim of feeding community voices into the final G20 declaration. It was meant to be an important platform where those at the frontline of economic challenges, and who work with communities could influence national and global policy priorities under South Africa’s G20 presidency.
The summit managed to convene a wide range of civil society representatives. Youth organisations, climate-justice movements, indigenous representatives, women’s groups, and social-development actors were all present. For ACRP, as an organisation committed to climate justice and a just transition, it felt necessary to be there and contribute to the climate justice work stream.
ACRP attended the climate justice breakaway and soon discovered that the climate working group’s draft declaration already existed before the consultation, and was in an advanced stage of editing. Supposedly, this declaration was drafted throughout the year, but it was clear that it was not shared with the majority of delegates beforehand. It was difficult to engage meaningfully with a document that was not accessible. This raised uncomfortable questions about whether participation was genuine, or whether the summit was another fancy tick-box exercise. The timing of the Summit was also questioned, if discussions were really going to feed into G20 leaders negotiations, why was it happening simultaneously as Sherpa meetings? For a country with such a strong civil-society tradition, hosting such a global process should have strengthened participatory democracy, not weakened confidence in it.
The People’s Summit
Following the Social Summit, ACRP attended the We the 99% People’s Summit at Constitution Hill, which was an alternative, movement-driven gathering running parallel to the official G20 events. This space was organised by several civil-society groups and movements, including the Fight Inequality Alliance, New Economy Hub, Mobilize, and 350.org.
The importance of the People’s Summit showed in its ability to create a space defined by those who are typically excluded from global decision-making. By taking place at Constitution Hill, a symbol of South Africa’s struggle for democracy and human rights, it explicitly framed its work around justice. The African Climate Reality Project was on the ground and attended several events that were curated in a way that weaved building power from the ground up, connecting local struggles, uniting movements, and advancing clear political and economic alternatives based on justice, care, sustainability, and dignity. Some of these events covered topics around unemployment, democratic energy access, green industrial futures, and seeds. The panel discussions and side events were a reflection of south-south solidarity, with representation from India, Brazil,Cote d’ivoire, Brunei and many more. A space was created not only for exploring how resistance against imperialism prepared us for the crises and opportunities of this moment but also created a moment of movement building and co-creating strategies and tactics for movement building. It was important to align local struggles with a shared global stance for a new model for the economy and social justice. The People’s Summit proved that real solutions for Food Sovereignty, Economic Justice, and Climate Action emerge when the conversation is people-centered, reflective, and rooted in lived experience. The voice of the people is the ultimate counter to economic inequality.
More than anything, the People’s Summit reminded many of us why movement building matters. In a world where political will for social transformation often feels like it is regressing, it was powerful to gather in a space where hope was tangible. Being surrounded by people who are fighting, every day, for a more equal and socially just society felt restorative. It reminded us that real change comes from communities, movements, and collective action.
Missing voices in the final declaration
Africa’s first G20’s presidency gave us moments worth celebrating. South Africa anchored the summit in solidarity, equality and sustainability delivering a climate forward declaration that recognised that climate change is not a single issue but a systematic issue. Despite geo-political tensions the declaration recognised the urgency of resilience, and showed a growing consensus from leading economies regarding the just transition and how navigating it would require shared responsibility as well as multilateral collaboration. For once, Africa’s priorities such as disaster resilience, debt sustainability, nature, and inclusive growth were not afterthoughts, they were central.
However the declaration had some gaps that we cannot ignore, across the board but specifically for climate resilience. As climate justice organisations, we would have liked to see the G20 position on a number of climate challenges which have severe economic implications such as the phase out of fossil fuel subsidies, pathways for loss and damage financing, the role of the private sector in climate resilience, and meaningful community inclusion.
The final G20 declaration was supposed to reflect the collective voices of the working groups engaged throughout the year, as well as those represented at the Social Summit. However, the space was under-utilized, resulting in a declaration that falls short of speaking to the real needs and priorities of communities.
Finally, the stark contrast between the two summits is important. The G20 Social Summit was designed for participation, but its process felt unwelcoming, with limited transparency and unclear influence. The People’s Summit, on the other hand, did not promise formal power, yet it delivered genuine engagement, solidarity, and a renewed sense of purpose. If global processes like the G20 are to reflect real people’s needs, then participation must be intentional, transparent, and centred on the voices of those most affected by inequality and climate injustice.