LONDON: United Kingdom’s King Charles III will attend the United Nations’ COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai this year and deliver an address at its Opening Ceremony, the Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
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 December 1, an official statement said.
According to a report in the CNN, the UK government, led by then Prime Minister Liz Truss, had last year advised the British monarch against attending the 2022 annual talks, which were held in Egypt.
“The King will attend the Opening Ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit at COP28 UAE, at the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and at the request of His Majesty’s Government, on Friday 1st December 2023,” the statement from the palace said.
COP28 will be a convergence of “business, finance and philanthropy leaders alongside world leaders” in the hopes that it will “accelerate climate and nature solutions and drive delivery and results.”
One of the strategic partners for COP28 is The Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) helping to bring together “global leaders to align industry, investment, and country roadmaps to showcase the progress achieved and chart the path for expediting and expanding these efforts”.
King Charles has had an impressive record in climate change philanthropy, championing action to achieve a sustainable future for over 50 years.
As the Prince of Wales, King Charles, previously delivered an opening speech at the 2021 COP26 Ceremony in Glasgow and previously at the COP21 event in Paris.
Despite not being in attendance at the COP27 event, the King held a reception at Buckingham Palace, before the event officially took place.
The 28th instalment of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), will be held from November 30 to December 12 in Expo City Dubai. (ANI)