As the first G20 event on African soil in this format, it underscored the continent’s role in addressing pressing global challenges, including the stalled progress toward the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article examines the summit’s significance for local governance, particularly in Johannesburg, the host city. Drawing on economic, policy, and infrastructural dimensions, it explores how the event catalysed investments, policy alignments, and capacity-building initiatives at the municipal level. While offering opportunities for sustainable urban development and skills transfer, the summit also highlighted challenges such as resource strain and the exacerbation of inequality. Through analysis of the Leaders’ Declaration and preparatory frameworks, the study argues that the G20’s legacy could reshape local governance by embedding global priorities into municipal strategies, fostering resilience in emerging economies.

Background
The Group of Twenty (G20), comprising 19 major economies, the European Union, and the African Union, represents approximately 85% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population. Established in 1999 amid financial crises, it has evolved into a premier forum for international economic cooperation, addressing issues from climate change to digital transformation. South Africa’s assumption of the G20 Presidency on 1 December 2024 positioned the nation and, by extension, its municipalities, as central actors in this dialogue, culminating in the Johannesburg Summit on 22-23 November 2025 at the Nasrec Expo Centre. Themed “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”, the presidency aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda, emphasising solutions for the Global South amid stalled SDG progress, with only 12% of targets on track, and over 30% regressing.

For local governance, defined here as municipal and provincial administration in South Africa, the summit’s significance transcends symbolic hosting. Johannesburg, as the economic hub of Gauteng Province and South Africa’s most populous city, faced direct implications, from infrastructural upgrades to policy recalibrations. Local governments, often strained by fiscal deficits and service delivery protests, stand to gain from increased global visibility, yet must navigate disruptions such as heightened security and traffic congestion. This article posits that the G20 Summit serves as a catalyst for integrating global agendas into local practices, enhancing governance through economic injections, sustainable policy frameworks, and institutional capacity. By analysing the summit's outcomes in relation to local contexts, it illuminates pathways for resilient urban governance in the Global South.

Overview of the 2025 G20 South Africa Summit
The Johannesburg Summit concluded with a 122-point Leaders’ Declaration, urging collective action on issues disproportionately affecting developing nations, including climate disasters, debt sustainability, and inclusive growth. Despite a U.S. boycott, attendance by leaders from China, India, Brazil, France, and the EU ensured robust participation, with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa advocating for Global South priorities. Key agenda items encompassed accelerating SDG attainment, mobilising finance for just energy transitions, strengthening disaster resilience, and advancing digital public infrastructure (DPI). The declaration committed to unlocking investments in mineral exploration and local beneficiation, promoting sustainable industrial policies, and reforming global governance to amplify African voices.

Preparatory events, such as the G20 Social Summit (18-20 November 2025) in Ekurhuleni, set the stage by focusing on social protection and inequality reduction. South Africa’s priorities, four high-level pillars including disaster resilience and sustainable financing, reflected a paradigm shift toward practical, inclusive solutions. For local governance, these themes align with the municipal mandates outlined in South Africa’s Constitution, which devolves powers for basic services and economic development. Additionally, the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 confers disaster management functions on cities like Johannesburg. The summit’s emphasis on infrastructure and DPI, for instance, aligns with the City of Johannesburg’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP), which prioritises smart city initiatives and green economies. Thus, the event not only elevated national discourse but also embedded global imperatives into subnational strategies, fostering a multi-level governance approach. 

Economic impacts on local governance
Hosting the G20 Summit injected immediate and long-term economic vitality into Johannesburg’s local economy, straining its resources yet ultimately bolstering them. Pre-summit preparations, including venue upgrades at Nasrec and enhanced transport links, generated thousands of jobs in construction and hospitality, aligning with G20 commitments to skills transfer and local content in infrastructure projects. The event is projected to contribute over R1 billion (approximately $55 million) to Gauteng’s GDP through tourism, with an influx of 5,000 delegates and media boosting occupancy rates in hotels and small businesses.

At the governance level, these inflows necessitated agile fiscal management. The City of Johannesburg allocated budgets for event-specific expenditures, such as security and logistics, drawing from national grants, but highlighted intergovernmental coordination challenges. Following the summit, the declaration’s emphasis on mobilising private finance for the SDGs, aiming to raise $500 billion annually for climate adaptation, opens up avenues for municipal bonds and public-private partnerships (PPPs). For instance, Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system could expand via G20-backed green financing, reducing carbon emissions and enhancing service delivery.

Moreover, the summit’s advocacy for debt sustainability in low-income countries indirectly alleviates local fiscal pressures. Promoting concessional lending and liquidity support enables municipalities to redirect funds from debt servicing to core services, such as water and sanitation. However, uneven distribution risks widening intra-city inequalities; townships like Soweto may see peripheral benefits, while Sandton reaps direct gains. Overall, these economic ripples underscore the G20’s role in strengthening local governance against volatility, provided that equitable mechanisms are in place.

Policy alignment and capacity building
The G20 Summit’s policy outputs have a profound influence on local governance, necessitating alignment with global standards, particularly in the areas of sustainability and digital inclusion. The Leaders’ Declaration’s call for regionally diverse DPI and inclusive AI systems resonates with Johannesburg’s digital strategy, which aims to bridge the city’s 40% digital divide. South Africa’s G20 Task Force on DPI, launched during the presidency, facilitates knowledge exchange, enabling municipalities to adopt open-source tools for e-governance, such as citizen engagement platforms.

Capacity building emerges as a cornerstone, with the summit promoting skills transfer through G20 initiatives, such as the Global Skills Partnership. Local officials in Johannesburg participated in pre-summit workshops on disaster resilience, equipping them to integrate climate risk assessments into urban planning. This aligns with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), which encourages municipalities to promote inclusive urbanisation. Point 38 of the Declaration stipulates that: “As Leaders of the G20, we share a vision to harness science, technology, entrepreneurship, and Indigenous and local knowledge in partnership to unlock new pathways to prosperity, leaving no one behind”. For governance, it translates to enhanced policy coherence: Johannesburg’s Climate Action Plan now incorporates G20-endorsed metrics for just energy transitions, targeting 50% renewable energy by 2030 via municipal solar projects.

Furthermore, the emphasis on global governance reform amplifies the voices of local communities. As an African Union member, South Africa has advocated for permanent G20 seats for the AU, potentially channeling resources to subnational levels to support food security and health infrastructure. Challenges persist in implementation; bureaucratic silos between national and local tiers could dilute impacts. Yet, the summit’s legacy lies in institutionalising these alignments, empowering local governance to drive SDG localisation and resilient policy-making.

Challenges and opportunities for local governance
While the G20 Summit heralds opportunities, it exposes vulnerabilities in local governance structures. The security demands during the event, which involved deploying 10,000 personnel, strained Johannesburg's policing resources, diverting focus from routine crime prevention and exacerbating community tensions in underserved areas. Infrastructure pressures, including road closures and power reliability issues amid load shedding, tested municipal emergency protocols, revealing gaps in adaptive governance.

Inequality remains a flashpoint; the summit’s focus on the Global South risks performative outcomes if local benefits disproportionately skew toward elites. For instance, while Nasrec upgrades enhance expo capabilities, peripheral communities may face heightened evictions due to beautification drives. Conversely, opportunities abound in leveraging the declaration’s sustainable industrial push. Johannesburg could pioneer G20-aligned circular economy models, recycling waste into jobs and reducing landfill pressures.

Digital and climate agendas offer transformative potential. By integrating G20 DPI frameworks, municipalities can streamline permitting processes, cutting red tape for small enterprises. Disaster resilience commitments facilitate the development of localised early-warning systems, which are vital for flood-prone informal settlements. To harness these, local governance must prioritise participatory budgeting, ensuring marginalised voices shape post-summit implementations. Thus, the event transforms challenges into catalysts for equitable and innovative administration.

Conclusion
The 2025 G20 South Africa Summit transcends international diplomacy, imprinting profound significance on local governance in Johannesburg and beyond. By weaving global priorities into municipal fabrics, through economic infusions, policy synergies, and capacity enhancements, it fortifies urban resilience against 21st-century threats. Yet, realising these potential demands requires vigilant navigation of inequities and implementation hurdles. As South Africa hands over the presidency, the true measure lies in sustained localisation of the SDGs, positioning local governments as vanguards of solidarity and sustainability. This event not only spotlights Africa’s governance innovations but redefines multi-scalar cooperation for a just global order.

Dr Paul Mudau, Senior Lecturer, Department of Public, Constitutional and International Law, University of South Africa.