• Buckingham Palace says Charles III will not be attending UN climate meeting in Egypt.
• COP27 is 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• The decision was made “amicably” and “consensually,” a government source told the Sunday Times.

Buckingham Palace said on Sunday that King Charles III will not be attending the upcoming United Nations climate meeting in Egypt because UK Prime Minister Liz Truss apparently “objected” to the enthusiastic environmentalist going.

The Sunday Times said that the British monarch, who ascended to the throne when his mother Queen Elizabeth II passed away last month, was planned to address the COP27 meeting on November 6–18.

However, the proposal was scrapped after Truss, who was given the position of prime minister by the late queen just two days before she passed away, voiced his opposition to it in a one-on-one meeting with Charles at the palace last month, according to the newspaper.

In November 2021, Queen Elizabeth addressed the final UN climate meeting with the support of the Tory administration headed by Boris Johnson, who succeeded Truss.

The office of Charles III appeared to remove itself from the explosive newspaper article by adamantly claiming the king had consulted Truss.

“With mutual friendship and respect there was agreement that the king would not attend,” it told the BBC.

According to a Sunday Times report, Britain’s next leader, who is already facing criticism for her economic policies that have caused market volatility, may controversially roll back the nation’s legally binding climate pledges.

The so-called 2050 net zero ambitions have drawn criticism from a number of her newly appointed ministers, and Truss herself is perceived as being less enthused about the strategy than her predecessor Johnson.

She probably won’t go to COP27, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, according to the newspaper.

The most recent summit, COP26, was held by Britain in Glasgow, Scotland. Along with the late queen, Charles and his son William also spoke at the occasion.

Regarding the report, Downing Street declined to comment.

Simon Clarke, a cabinet minister, denied it as “simply not true,” telling Sky News that the choice had been made “amicably” and “consensually.”

Jake Berry, the leader of the Conservative Party, told the media outlet that the government was “committed to the net zero target by 2050.”

Tobias Ellwood, a Tory MP, urged reconsideration of the monarch’s decision to abstain from participating in Egypt, tweeting that he hoped “common sense will prevail.”

“King Charles is a globally respected voice on the environment and climate change,” Ellwood added.

“His attendance would add serious authority to the British delegation. Can we really go from hosting COP26 to benching soft power at COP27?”

The Sunday Times said the episode was “likely to fuel tensions” between Charles and Truss, but cited a government source who claimed the audience had been “cordial” and there had “not been a row”.

Meanwhile, a royal source told the paper: “It is no mystery that the king was invited to go there.

“He had to think very carefully about what steps to take for his first overseas tour, and he is not going to be attending COP(27).”

All royal family members’ official trips abroad are customarily planned in accordance with the government’s recommendations.

The monarch reportedly still hopes to be able to make a contribution to the conference, despite not being able to attend in person, according to sources.

Charles III is a devoted environmentalist who has long advocated for better environmental protection, organic farming, and addressing climate change. (AFP)

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