Johannesburg, 13–14 November 2025: The Think Tank 20 (T20) Summit, held on 13–14 November 2025 in Johannesburg, concluded with a strong reaffirmation of its role as the G20’s most influential engagement group and intellectual engine. Convened under South Africa’s G20 Presidency theme, ’Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability’, the summit brought together leading global think tanks and experts to deliver evidence-based policy recommendations shaped by the priorities of the Global South. The meeting culminated in the presentation of the T20 Communiqué, which significantly informed the G20 Leaders' Summit later in the month.

ERIA played an active role throughout the summit and its side events, contributing strategic insights in areas ranging from disaster risk reduction to just energy transitions. Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Senior Fellow for Innovation, co-chaired the Task Force on Climate Action and the Just Energy Transition. Together, the five T20 Task Forces – covering trade and investment; digital transformation; financing sustainable development; solidarity for the SDGs; and climate action – produced an implementation roadmap offering practical, solutions-oriented proposals for G20 decision-makers.

Key recommendations centred on the South African Presidency’s priorities, including:

• Strengthening Disaster Resilience and Response: Scaling up financing for post-disaster reconstruction and preparedness, with stronger engagement from international financial institutions and the private sector.
• Ensuring Debt Sustainability: Advancing measures to address structural deficits, reduce the high cost of capital, and expand debt relief for developing economies.
• Mobilising Finance for a Just Energy Transition: Increasing the quantity and quality of climate finance for developing countries, strengthening Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), and leveraging private capital.
• Harnessing Critical Minerals for Growth: Promoting value addition, equitable benefit-sharing, and resilient supply chains for green industrialisation.

Spotlight on Disaster Risk Reduction

A major summit session focused on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), building on momentum from the G20 DRR Working Group’s Ministerial Declaration in October 2025. The discussion highlighted the escalating threat of climate-induced disasters and their disproportionate impact on developing economies.

Dr Anbumozhi, speaking on a high-level panel, underscored the urgency of achieving universal coverage of Early Warning Systems (EWS), aligned with the UN’s Early Warnings for All initiative. South Africa’s recently launched EWS Roadmap was cited as a leading example. The panel also stressed the importance of advancing the Voluntary Principles for Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction through more robust budgetary planning.

ERIA’s Side Events Amplify Global South Priorities

On the sidelines of the T20 Summit, ERIA contributed to two major side events advancing Global South perspectives in global governance.

At the session on ’BRICS and G20: Building Bridges for Global Governance’, Dr Anbumozhi emphasised the value of sub-regional collaboration amongst emerging economies as incubators for policy innovation that can be scaled to the G20.

On 15 November, ERIA co-organised a side event with the Governance Institute of Africa, where Prof. Hidetoshi Nishimura, Supreme Advisor to the President of ERIA, called for greater investment in building resilient economies and circular societies – warning that the cost of inaction far exceeds that of preventive measures.

In partnership with the African Development Agency (NEPAD), ERIA also organised the event ’Innovative Governance for Disaster Resilience and an Accountable Circular Carbon Future in the Global South.’ The session reviewed policy continuity across recent Global South G20 Presidencies – Indonesia (2022), India (2023), Brazil (2024), and South Africa (2025) – particularly in disaster resilience and just transitions.

ERIA’s Dr Giulia Ajmone Marsan joined discussions with NEPAD’s Ms Pamla Gopaul and Value20 members Mr Jay Naidu and Mr Koogan Pillay. They championed critical themes for the G20 action agenda, including:

• Imagining a digital, decolonial, and just future through equitable governance of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence
• Supporting community-driven alternative credit systems to enhance women’s financial inclusion
• Amplifying Africa’s voice within the G20, ensuring meaningful integration of its development priorities

Impact on the G20 Leaders’ Declaration

Deliberations from the T20 were strongly reflected in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration, which upheld commitments to ’Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability.’ The final declaration mirrored T20 priorities across several areas:

• Enhanced climate ambition and strengthened disaster risk reduction
• Greater emphasis on development justice and debt relief
• Commitment to tripling global renewable energy capacity
• Commitment to doubling the global annual rate of energy efficiency improvements
• Recognition of the need for inclusive, people-centred, and integrated disaster resilience strategies

These outcomes underscore the T20’s continued role in shaping actionable, forward-looking policy directions for the G20 and the global community.