Press Release

Centring Africa’s priorities on the climate philanthropy agenda:

Successful conclusion of the 2025 F20 Climate Solutions Forum in Cape Town

The F20 Climate Solutions Forum 2025 (CSF2025), hosted on May 27th & May 28th 2025 by the Foundations Platform F20 and Democracy Works Foundation, concluded with resounding success, marking a pivotal moment in the climate and sustainable development sphere in the lead up to this year's G20 summit in Johannesburg. Held at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the two-day event brought together a diverse array of international stakeholders, including foundations, philanthropists, public managers, researchers, businesses, as well as political and civil society leaders.

Under the theme ‘Trust. Transition. Transformation: Building Relationships for Climate Solidarity’, the forum emphasised the importance of strengthening alliances and networks, sharing knowledge, and amplifying the voice of global philanthropy from the South within G20 discussions. The event's agenda was informed by F20’s 2025 Recommendations to the G20 under the South African Presidency, which are a set of policy asks for G20 decisionmakers that are actionable, global, climate-focused, and deeply rooted in socio-economic transformation. As such, the programme aligned closely with key priority issues of the G20 presidency, focusing on climate change, just transitions, international collaboration, climate finance, food security, SDGs and combatting inequality. CSF2025 gathered more than 260 participants on-site in Cape Town and over 470 online. By fostering engagement, expanding participation, and elevating powerful voices for climate action, the outcomes of the Climate Solutions Forum will contribute to a more ambitious G20 outcome.

The F20 Climate Solutions Forum 2025 featured an impressive lineup of keynote speakers and thought leaders. In her keynote address, Manasiti Omar, CEO and founder of SASAL, emphasised the transformative power of climate action in philanthropy, particularly when lived experiences of climate change are valued as equal to technical expertise; “for too long, communities on the frontlines of climate change have been treated as beneficiaries of solutions, not co-creators or leaders of those solutions”. Manasiti’s insights were supported by Cape Town Deputy Mayor Alderman Eddie Andrews, who encouraged the audience to “recommit to listening to our Earth, to our people, and most importantly, to each other.”

In a high-level panel that framed the forum’s discussions, H.E. Mrs Sandra Kramer, EU Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, said, “climate transformation is an issue that cannot be addressed top-down only … it’s an organic process that must be built from the ground up”, which is particularly pertinent when considering the universal and urgent nature of adverse climate change effects. Dorah Modise, the Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Commission, echoed this is her call for a just transition to have a whole-of-society approach. Connecting this to the climate finance agenda, Modise said: “This notion othat climate finance is aid that needs to flow from the Global north to the Global South is completely wrong because, for me, climate finance is a co-investment and commitment towards a common good for which we are collectively responsible for – some more than others.”

Across both days influential experts, predominantly from South Africa and other African countries were joined by speakers from South America, Asia and Europe and discussed the urgency of climate action and the 2030 agenda along with the core role of philanthropy in driving change. The forum’s panels, sessions and side events are the result of collaboration with IPASA, the South African Presidential Climate Commission, the Just Energy Transition Project Management Unit (JET PMU) of the Presidency of the Republic of South Africa, the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, Fundación Avina, the Wilo Foundation, Earth Insight, Welthungerhilfe (WHH), South x Sul Network, Comuá Network, the Clean Air Fund, the Ban Ki-Moon Foundation, WINGS, the BMW Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Lewis Foundation, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

“We are thrilled that the first Climate Solutions Forum on the African continent has been such a success,” said Katrin Harvey, Secretary General of F20.“Ahead of the forum, our intention was for event participants – whether civil society actors, foundations, or those involved in policy – to leave the Climate Solutions Forum with a clear idea of how their work and advocacy fits along the Trust, Transition, Transformation framework. I believe we have achieved that,” Connecting the outcomes of CSF25 with the continuation of G20 climate action throughout 2025, Harvey said, “these are more than just topics; F20 intends for these discussions to be solution starters that help us all to move towards a more equitable and resilient climate future,”

Raisa Cole, Climate Governance Lead of Democracy Works Foundation and co-chair of Foundations Platform 20, explained exactly why the G20 year in South Africa is set to be transformative: “In many ways, Africa has been on the frontline of climate change adaptation innovation for the last 20 years. As a result, the world has a lot to learn from the continent in how we have adapted, but also how we have adopted intersectional approaches to climate change responses.”

The Climate Solutions Forum fostered a spirit of collaboration and innovation, with participants committing to continued engagement beyond the event itself. The engaging, honest, inspiring – and sometimes vulnerable – insights shared by both event speakers and participants are seeds of change that will bloom into meaningful and resonant climate action.

To download this press release, click here.

Photos of the event can be downloaded here.

All information about the Climate Solutions Forum, including the agenda and speakers, can be found here.

About F20

The Foundations Platform F20 is an international network of around 80 foundations and philanthropic organisations that work with the G20 countries for the implementation of the UN Sustainability Goals and compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement. Each year, the F20 network publishes its Recommendations to the G20 host country to guide and inform influential policymaking for climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2025 Recommendations to G20 South Africa can be read here.

About Democracy Works Foundation

Democracy Works Foundation (DWF) is a southern African non-profit company focused on democracy development in the region. With headquarters in South Africa, DWF works through its country offices to provide tools to develop resilient democracies.

As an independent foundation, we build and promote inclusive, equitable and sustainable consensus democracies. We do so by providing tools, platforms and content to strengthen democrats, democratic culture and democracy institutions.

Media Contact

Larissa Bricis

Project Manager Communications and Outreach

Foundations Platform F20

Larissa.bricis@foundations-20.org