• It comes a year after Downing Street blocked Charles from attending COP27



The King will travel to the Middle East next month to hold the first major climate change speech of his reign.

It comes a year after Charles was blocked by Down street to attend the COP27 summit in Egypt.

At the time, Palace officials attempted to play down any suggestion of a rift with the then prime minister. Liz Trusswho felt that it was “not the right opportunity” for Carlos to attend so soon after his promotion.

The sovereign offered a reception in Buckingham palace to lead the field, but it was well known that he was disappointed by the decision.

However, Rishi Sunak has provisionally sanctioned the monarch to attend COP28 – the UN conference on climate change – in Dubai at the end of next month, the Evening Standard reported.

It comes a year after Downing Street blocked Charles from attending the COP27 summit in Egypt. Pictured: King Charles III listens to speeches during his visit to the Natural History Museum to meet business leaders and discuss biodiversity in Paris.
Palace officials sought to downplay any suggestion of a rift with then-prime minister Liz Truss, who felt it was “not the right opportunity” for Charles to attend so soon after his accession. Pictured: King Charles and Camilla wait at a reception at the Mansion House on October 18.

He would be expected to address other world leaders while there.

The plans are not set in stone, the Mail understands, not least because of the volatility in the Middle East, but it is certainly “intended” for King to leave.

As Prince of Wales, Charles was a vocal advocate for the environment and was praised for his stance on issues such as organic farming, plastics, biodiversity loss and climate change, half a century before they became commonplace.

His most recent initiative before joining was to establish a Sustainable Markets Initiative to strengthen links between private industry and government, which he believes is crucial to solving the climate crisis.

Charles attending Dubai alongside world leaders will be a clear sign that he wants to use his position to continue highlighting environmental issues.

As Prince of Wales, Charles gave the opening speech at Cop21 in Paris in 2015, calling for a “vast military-style campaign” to fight climate change and urging world leaders to commit “trillions, not billions, of dollars”. He played a vital role in convening and encouraging world leaders to sign the historic Paris Climate Agreement at the event.

Charles also gave a speech in his own country at the opening ceremony of Cop26 in Glasgow, calling on world leaders to adopt a “warlike stance” to address the issue.

In a video speech at the same conference in 2021, the late Queen praised Charles’s work.