CAPE TOWN, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The third and final G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) Technical and Ministerial Meetings kicked off on Monday in Cape Town.

Opening the ECSWG meeting, South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George said the deliberations this week would lay the groundwork for the adoption of the ECSWG Ministerial Declaration, also to be known as the Cape Town Declaration.

The declaration would represent the first G20 environmental outcome crafted on African soil and serve as "a blueprint for practical cooperation, rooted in evidence and focused on delivery," he said.

According to the minister, the declaration would affirm three commitments: accelerating implementation of existing international agreements; deepening cooperation between developed and developing countries through finance, technology, and capacity support; and strengthening transparency and accountability across all areas of environmental action.

Throughout the week, delegates will deliberate on six priority areas: biodiversity and conservation; land degradation, desertification, drought and water sustainability; chemicals and waste management; climate change; air quality; and oceans and coasts.

The outcomes of the G20 ECSWG Meeting, which runs until Wednesday, will inform decisions at the G20 ECSWG Ministerial Meeting from Thursday to Friday and feed into the G20 Leaders' Summit late next month.

However, the unity of purpose at the Cape Town meeting was tested following remarks from Usha-Maria Turner, head of the U.S. delegation who said her country did not support references in the draft declaration to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Turner said that such matters "should not be the responsibility of international organizations or the G20."

The U.S. position follows its earlier decision under the Trump administration to formally reject the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. This stance has introduced a note of tension and could complicate efforts to achieve full consensus on the Cape Town Declaration, which aims to align G20 environmental cooperation with global development frameworks. ■