The UN secretary-general said Wednesday he stands side by side with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and the people of Africa in their fight for justice on all fronts.

“Africa needs financial justice,” Antonio Guterres said during a joint media briefing with South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola in the capital Pretoria.

Guterres also said Africa needs climate justice, as it stands on the front lines of the climate crisis, saying although the continent causes minimum emissions, climate change is affecting it and pounding its economies.

“Africa is warming faster than the global average,” he said, adding: “We must limit global temperature rise to 1.5 C to stop this crisis from spilling even further out of control.”

The UN chief also said that Africa needs access to financial support, noting that in September, world leaders adopted the pact for the future which includes commitments for ambitious reforms to make the international financial architecture representative of today’s global economy and put the needs of developing countries in the front.

He said the pact calls for action to move forward with Sustainable Development Goals to substantially increase the lending capacity of multilateral development banks.

He also retaliated his support for Africa to have two permanent seats at the UN Security Council.

Speaking earlier in Johannesburg during the G20 Sherpa meeting, Guterres appealed to G20 countries to take the lead in delivering climate justice, saying that many vulnerable countries are being forced to respond to a crisis they did nothing to create.

“Every G20 country has to do more in reduction of emissions,” he said.

South Africa assumed the G20 presidency on Dec. 1, choosing the theme Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability. It held its first G20 meeting on Monday.

As the first African country to lead the group of powerful nations, South Africa said its theme seeks to harness global will and capabilities to confront the enormous challenges facing the globe