King Charles will not be present at the upcoming COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan next month, as he continues to manage his health amid cancer treatment.
The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference organisers had been hopeful that the King, a dedicated environmental advocate, would attend the significant gathering of global leaders in Baku. Despite this, Charles is gearing up for a trip to Australia with Queen Camilla next week to commence their autumn tour and has received accolades for his dedication to past summits.
At COP28 in Dubai last December, King Charles delivered an impassioned plea in his opening remarks, cautioning that the world was “dreadfully far off track” in meeting crucial climate goals set by the Paris Agreement in 2015, and urged for substantial action. Royal insiders have indicated that the UK government chose not to request the King’s attendance at the summit, with an understanding from Downing Street that “an abundance of caution” was warranted.
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A source disclosed: “The King will not be going to COP. He has not been asked by the government to attend the event and he is also mindful of his own commitments following the upcoming autumn tour.”
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, established during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, aims to avert perilous anthropogenic impacts on the climate system. The Convention boasts 198 country signatories, reports the Mirror.
In July, Charles had the pleasure of hosting Mukhtar Babayev, the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan and president-designate of COP29, at his Clarence House residence in London. Since resuming his Royal responsibilities in April, the King has been undergoing weekly cancer treatments following his diagnosis in February.
Charles has predominantly been residing in Scotland between his treatment sessions in London, where he’s been “immersing himself in nature to aid his recovery”, as per individuals close to him. The Mirror disclosed last week that medics have given Charles, aged 75, the green light to temporarily halt his treatment while he undertakes his autumn tour.
The Royal couple is set to land in Sydney on October 17, before heading to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm), where they will engage with numerous global leaders on the island nation during their nine-day trip. Given the proximity of COP29, scheduled from November 11-22, palace staff and government officials have decided it would be unreasonable to expect the King to attend.
Post-Samoa, Charles must gear up for the Remembrance Sunday commemorations on November 10 at the Cenotaph and resume his regular Royal engagements. The King, who celebrates his 76th birthday on November 14, is not expected to have public festivities, with palace insiders indicating he will spend the day working and later observe his birthday privately at home.
A source revealed: “The King would have relished the chance to attend the summit, but the autumn period is shaping up to be incredibly busy already. Given the tour to Australia and Samoa, as well as the amount of travel in between, a decision was taken for His Majesty not to attend the conference this year.”
This marks the second occasion within three years that Charles will be absent from the summit, with the then-Prime Minister Liz Truss controversially advising him against attending the 2022 event in Egypt. Britains briefest-serving PM, whose tenure lasted just 45 tumultuous days, is said to have ‘objected’ to the King’s presence at the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Buckingham Palace later announced: “With mutual friendship and respect there was agreement that the king would not attend.”
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had remotely addressed the UN climate conference in November 2021 in Glasgow, which had been sanctioned by the Conservative government of her predecessor, Boris Johnson. It has been confirmed by Buckingham Palace that the King will not be attending COP this year.