King Charles to host reception ahead of COP27 – despite not going himself | UK News

King Charles will host a reception for key COP27 figures at Buckingham Palace on Friday, despite not attending the conference himself.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference begins in Egypt on 6 November, but the King – who has been a passionate campaigner on environmental issues – will not be going.

The reception will bring together over 200 international business leaders, decision makers and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to mark the end of the United Kingdom’s presidency of COP26 and look ahead to the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

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The prime minister has defended his decision to miss COP27

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The reception has been organised to facilitate discussion of sustainable growth, progress made since COP26 in Glasgow and collective and continued efforts to tackle climate change.

The King has attended the UN climate conference for a number of years and delivered one of the keynote speeches at the opening ceremony for COP26 in Glasgow.

Guests will include Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who pulled out of the summit last week, so he could focus on “domestic challenges” here in the UK. He is expected to speak briefly at the event.

COP26 President Alok Sharma, who lost his cabinet seat in the latest reshuffle, will also be there, along with America’s special envoy on climate change, John Kerry.

Mr Sunak has faced criticism for his decision not to attend the event, with Labour leader Keir Starmer saying the prime minister was missing an opportunity to “pull world leaders together”.

Earlier this week, former energy secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said Mr Sunak was right not to go to the summit, saying: “The cost of living won’t be solved in Sharm el-Sheikh where each hotel room for the conference is £2,000 a night.”

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