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King Charles will not attend COP27 after PM Liz Truss ‘objected’: report

  • The king had intended to deliver a speech at the November 6-18 climate summit in Egypt, the Sunday Times newspaper reported
  • However the plan has been axed after Truss reportedly opposed it during a personal audience with King Charles at Buckingham Palace last month

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King Charles receives Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace in London on September. Photo: Pool via Reuters
Agence France-Presse

King Charles will not travel to next month’s COP27 climate summit in Egypt after UK Prime Minister Liz Truss “objected” to the avid environmentalist attending, a report on Saturday said.

Britain’s new monarch, who took the throne when his mother Queen Elizabeth died last month, had intended to deliver a speech at the November 6-18 gathering, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.

But the plan has been axed after Truss – who was only appointed prime minister by the late queen two days before she died – opposed it during a personal audience with Charles at Buckingham Palace last month.

King Charles carrying out official government duties at Buckingham Palace, London on September 11. Photo: Victoria Jones / Buckingham Palace / AFP
King Charles carrying out official government duties at Buckingham Palace, London on September 11. Photo: Victoria Jones / Buckingham Palace / AFP

The report comes amid speculation Britain’s new leader, already under fire over her economic plans which have sparked market turmoil, could controversially scale back the country’s climate change commitments.

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Her newly assembled cabinet contains a number of ministers who have expressed scepticism about the so-called 2050 net zero goals, while Truss herself is seen as less enthusiastic about the policy than her predecessor Boris Johnson.

The Sunday Times said she is unlikely to attend COP27 – the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

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Britain hosted the last summit in the Scottish city Glasgow, when Charles, the late queen and his son Prince William all addressed the event.

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