King Charles will deliver opening address at major climate summit in Dubai, Buckingham Palace confirms

Charles will deliver the opening address at the Cop28 World Climate Action Summit in Dubai on December 1
King Charles III And Queen Camilla Visit Kenya - Day 2
King Charles III arrives at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday
Getty Images
Robert Jobson1 November 2023

The King is to attend the opening ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit at Cop28 in the UAE, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Charles will deliver the opening address at the summit on December 1 in Dubai, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

Close sources told the Standard that Rishi Sunak had provisionally sanctioned the monarch’s trip to address other world leaders on the climate emergency.

The King, who is currently on a state visit to Kenya with Queen Camilla, missed Cop27 last year due to an agreement made while Liz Truss was prime minister, despite it being widely reported the monarch had hoped to attend in person.

He only discovered he wasn’t allowed to attend last year’s summit at the last minute when No 10 said it felt it was not the “right occasion” for him to go there and it was “unanimously agreed”.

However, following Mr Sunak's decision to sanction the trip, a senior source told the Standard in October: “It is the King’s intention to attend and speak at COP28." As the Prince of Wales, Charles spent decades passionately campaigning on green and environmental issues.

He was invited by UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and will attend at the request of the UK Government, the Palace said.

The King, who will be in the UAE from November 30 to December 1, will also hold meetings with regional leaders ahead of the summit.

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