Some Commonwealth Countries Reportedly Concerned King Charles III Won’t Visit COP27

On Monday, Buckingham Palace announced that UK King Charles III would not visit the UN’s COP27 climate conference, scheduled for November in Egypt. The King, who took an active part in environmental summits and hosted COP26 in Glasgow last year, previously reportedly planned to to deliver a speech at the Egypt gathering.

The Guardian has reported that “some Commonwealth countries are privately concerned” that UK Prime Minister Liz Truss purportedly prevented King Charles III from visiting the upcoming 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27).

Many Commonwealth countries are among the world’s most vulnerable to the climate crisis. They are thought to be uneasy abour the UK government changing priorities when it comes to its climate change agenda.

This comes as Egypt, a host of COP27, warned the UK not to backtrack from its commitments regarding the international fight against global warming.

In a statement cited by The Guardian, an Egyptian government spokesperson also referred to reports that King Charles III has been effectively forbidden by UK Prime Minister Liz Truss from attending COP27, due to be held between in Sharm El-Sheikh on November 6-18.

The spokesperson reportedly said that “The COP president designate is disappointed by these reports” and that “the Egyptian presidency of the climate conference acknowledges the longstanding and strong commitment of His Majesty to the climate cause, and believes that his presence would have been of great added value to the visibility of climate action at this critical moment.”

According to the spokesman, the Egyptian government hopes that “this doesn’t indicate that the UK is backtracking from the global climate agenda after presiding over COP26.”

The remarks came as Buckingham Palace confirmed that the UK King would not take part in the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference, responding to a story in the Sunday Times, which claimed that Truss had "ordered" Charles III not to attend, something that was dismissed by Downing Street.

The PM’s spokesperson declined to comment on a conversation between Truss and Charles III, only saying that the UK had a "proud record" on tackling climate change.

This followed Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry urging developed countries last month “to make significant new financial commitments” to tackle climate change, “including through the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund, and more importantly, ensure that a symbolic sum of $100 billion is committed by 2023.” According to the minister, “climate change financing is still far below the needs and expectations”.

“We all must continue to develop and improve the regulatory framework and tools necessary to implement the principle of a just green transition that does not ignore social and economic factors and needs,” Shoukry added.

Truss, for her part, pledged during her election campaign to “double down” on the UK’s target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 if she becomes the prime minister. The PM, who calls herself “an environmentalist before it was fashionable," also promised to conduct a review of the current policies to ensure the country is meeting its climate commitments in the most efficient way.

At the same time, she angered climate campaigners by offering more than 100 new licenses for oil and gas in the North Sea, and lifting the ban on fracking, part of the measures to bring down high energy costs in the face of the cost of living crisis in the UK.