SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa sets climate finance and debt relief as G20 presidency focus

South Africa’s G20 presidency next year will focus on mobilising finance for nations stricken by climate-induced disasters and extending debt relief for developing countries, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.
South Africa is the first African country to lead the G20, which was set up to bolster economic cooperation among leading developed and emerging economies and includes 19 sovereign nations along with the European Union and the African Union.
While more than 100 nations wanted to cap plastic production, a handful of oil-producers were prepared only to target waste.

Ramaphosa said he would use the opportunity to advance the development priorities of Africa and the Global South.
“First, we must take action to strengthen disaster resilience,” he told journalists at the official launch of the G20 presidency.
“We will elevate this issue to leader level, calling for the global community, including international financial institutions, development banks and the private sector to scale up post-disaster reconstruction,” he said.

The second priority will be ensuring the sustainability of low-income countries’ debts, which has already been a core topic for the G20 in recent years.
“We will also seek to ensure that the sovereign credit ratings are fair and transparent and to address high risk premiums for developing economies,” Ramaphosa said.
Other priorities will include increasing financing to help developing countries make the transition to renewable energy and ensuring that critical minerals, many of which are mined in Africa, benefit the countries and communities where they originate, he said.

South Africa’s objectives could be complicated by the risk of trade wars under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has called climate change a hoax and threatened to introduce restrictive trade tariffs on nations including Canada, Mexico and China.
The annual summit of G20 leaders will be held in Johannesburg in November 2025, Ramaphosa said. The United States will take over the G20 presidency next.

29 November 2024

CRYPTO: 40% rise in crypto ownership will ramp up tax compliance activity warns BDO

The 40% rise in the number of Britons owning crypto-assets revealed by the latest FCA survey will lead to a ramping up of compliance activity against those who fail to pay the correct tax on their crypto

Read More
19 April 2024

REGULATION: FATF Agrees on Action Plan to Drive Implementation of Global Crypto Norms

The Financial Action Task Force has agreed on an action plan to drive the “timely implementation” of its global standards for crypto, a report from its recent plenary meeting shows. The

Read More
31 July 2024

IRELAND: Ireland’s climate minister supports Brazil’s proposal to tax world’s billionaires

Ireland’s climate minister supports Brazil’s proposal for a global tax on billionaires to raise funds to fight the climate crisis. The suggestion was put to the G20 as they hosted finance ministers

Read More
4 March 2024

US: IRS Chief Exposes $150 Billion Annual Tax Evasion by U.S. Wealthy

The head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently shed light on a staggering financial oversight, revealing that the nation’s wealthiest individuals are bypassing over $150 billion in

Read More