Taoiseach Micheál Martin will address the opening session of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg this morning.
Ireland has been invited to the meeting of the world’s leading economies as a guest of the South African G20 Presidency.
In his speech, Mr Martin is expected to reiterate Ireland’s commitment to international law, multilateralism and rules-based international trade.
Reflecting on South Africa’s theme for the summit of "solidarity, equality and sustainability," Mr Martin will also speak about inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
In a news conference on the eve of the summit in Johannesburg, the US Secretary General António Guterres picked up the theme of equality.
"Africa has been a double victim of colonialism," he told reporters, "first, through centuries of exploitation and plunder and then again when international institutions were created - when most African countries were still under colonial rule, and their voices were absent from the table."
"Today, Africa remains woefully under-represented across global institutions," he said, adding: "This must change".
But themes like these have drawn the ire of Washington over the year of G20 working group meetings, which, along with US President Donald Trump’s claims of persecution of white South Africans, culminated in a full boycott.
Early this year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said South Africa’s slogan was "anti-American".
And it’s not the only thing upsetting the White House.
The G20’s heavy focus on the scaling up of renewable energy directly challenges the US President’s contention that climate change is a hoax and his promise to "drill, baby, drill" for more fossil fuel.
Johannesburg airport is decorated with posters declaring: "Africa and Europe team up for clean energy".
And yesterday, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced a pledged of €7 billion to boost renewable energy generation and electricity access across Africa.
"We are turbo-charging Africa’s clean-energy transition," she told a Global Citizen event, adding "millions more people could gain access to electricity".
Mr Martin also underlined Ireland’s commitment to scaling up renewable energy, telling the event: "We are very windy in Ireland".
Of course, the US absence means there is no pushback in real time.
But the stark divide between America’s worldview and the one being embraced here in Johannesburg does raise the question of whether any of this year’s G20 agenda will survive into the US presidency, due to begin on 1 December.
