MP Alok Sharma, who chaired COP26 last year in Glasgow, says King Charles should be present at COP27, due to take place in Egypt in November.
Sharma’s comments came following a report which claimed the Prime Minister, Liz Truss, had ‘ordered’ the King not to attend the climate conference.
The Times reported that the King had hoped to deliver a speech – as he had done in person during the opening ceremony of COP26, along with the late Queen who appeared via video link – but was discouraged by Truss. Following consultations with officials it was confirmed by Buckingham Palace that ‘with mutual friendship and respect there was an agreement that the King would not attend’.
Sharma – former Business Secretary under Boris Johnson’s Government – believes that the King’s keen personal interest in environmental matters is reason enough for his presence at the summit, since for several decades in his former role as Prince of Wales he was ‘a huge global champion of the environment’ and had been ‘tackling climate change long before it was a mainstream issue’.
Can we really go from hosting COP26 to benching soft power at COP27?
“I would certainly like to see His Majesty attend and that is a message I am getting from countries around the world.
“Of course, he is head of state in the United Kingdom, but he is also head of state in other countries, some of which are very much on the front line of climate change.”
Senior Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood remarked that he hoped ‘common sense would prevail’ and there would be a reversal of the decision for the King not to visit the event in Sharm El-Sheikh. On Twitter Ellwood wrote: “King Charles is a globally respected voice on the environment and climate change. His attendance would add serious authority to the British delegation. Can we really go from hosting COP26 to benching soft power at COP27?”
Last week the UK received a warning from Egypt not to ‘backtrack’ on the global climate agenda.
