King Charles III to deliver opening address at COP28 climate summit

LONDON - Britain’s King Charles III will deliver a speech at the opening of the COP28 climate conference in the United Arab Emirates, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday.

The lifelong environmentalist spoke at COP26 in Scotland in 2021 but did not attend the last conference in Egypt,

reportedly because of objections by the British prime minister at the time, Liz Truss.

In a statement, the palace said the British head of state was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Dec 1.

“The King will deliver an opening address at the summit, hosted by the president of the UAE, in Dubai,” it added.

In a speech on Wednesday at the United Nations office in Nairobi, where he is taking part in a state visit, King Charles called for unity among nations before COP28.

“Left unchecked, global warming, biodiversity loss and climate change are challenges which threaten us all and can only be met by the whole of society working together in the spirit of action, partnership and commitment,” he said.

The crunch climate talks being held in Dubai from Nov 30 to Dec 12 will be the 28th such gathering of world leaders under UN auspices known as COPs, which stands for Conference of the Parties.

King Charles was reportedly advised not to attend the COP27 by Truss, who was sceptical about commitments of her predecessor Boris Johnson to decarbonise the UK economy.

The palace played down any rift with Ms Truss, who lasted just 49 days in office, saying the decision was made “with mutual friendship and respect”.

Ms Truss’s successor Rishi Sunak initially decided not to go to Sharm el-Sheikh, but eventually went to the summit in the Red Sea resort.

King Charles instead hosted a reception with 200 “international business leaders, decision makers and NGOs” two days before the start of the Egypt summit. AFP