S20 South Africa 2025 Declaration Joint Action for “Climate Change and Well-being”
The Science20 (Science20) 2025 Opening Meeting, held in South Africa, which will assume the G20 Presidency in 2025, was accompanied by a series of meetings attended by TÜBA President Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Şeker and TÜBA Full Member Prof. Dr. Ahmet Nuri Yurdusev.
S20 2025 emphasized that combating climate change is a process that requires global cooperation. Following the work carried out with the world's science academies throughout 2025, the South Africa 2025 Declaration was published as a result of the contributions made. The academies of the United States, China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, Russia, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Australia, Argentina, South Africa, and Türkiye signed the declaration. The declaration emphasized that decisive, science-based, and inclusive actions and efforts could yield multiple shared benefits in the areas of public health, equality, food and water security, biodiversity, and sustainable innovation.
The communiqué, published under the theme of “Climate Change and Well-being,” addressed climate change as an urgent, human-induced threat to health, livelihoods, ecosystems, and the stability of life support systems. The S20 agenda was aligned with South Africa's G20 priorities under the theme of “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability.”
The communiqué listed five priority areas and the measures to be taken in relation to them. Under the One Health approach, strengthening regulations on air and water quality, developing monitoring systems, and increasing disaster preparedness—and thus protecting human and environmental health—took its place in the first item. Attention was drawn to ensuring the important relationship between food, water, and energy is placed on a sound footing by promoting climate-friendly, nature-positive agricultural practices, establishing resilient local food systems, and promoting compact and low-emission urbanization. It was decided that the inclusion of indigenous peoples, local communities, and vulnerable individuals in decision-making mechanisms and ensuring their access to early warning systems would be possible through the participation of local communities and vulnerable groups in decision-making processes.
The development of risk-based infrastructure, strengthening region-specific data access, and the renewal of the ecosystem were highlighted in the declaration as areas that must be supported, emphasizing the critical importance of ensuring harmony among all these elements.
Academies from G20 countries signed a joint statement on advancing research subject to regulation concerning the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, thereby increasing renewable energy and energy efficiency, adopting circular solutions, improving waste management, removing carbon from the atmosphere, and managing solar radiation.