King Charles III and Pope Francis are set to attend the United Nations' COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai to discuss the current crisis.
Buckingham Palace on Wednesday said that the British Royal will deliver an address at the opening ceremony of the climate summit. The UK government last year advised the monarch against attending the 2022 event when it was held in Egypt.
COP28 Climate Summit
At the time, it was believed that the recommendation was made following consultations with the government. Authorities jointly agreed that the climate summit was not the right occasion for King Charles' first trip overseas as sovereign.
Only a few world leaders have confirmed their attendance at the Dubai climate summit. Also, it is unclear whether US President Joe Biden will travel to the United Arab Emirates for the annual event.
King Charles will give his address at the event on Dec. 1 and will meet with regional leaders. The monarch's visit comes at a time of high tensions in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas conflict threatens to spill over to other nations, as per CNN.
The palace released a statement saying that the King will attend the Opening Ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit at COP28 UAE. It noted that he was invited by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE.
During King Charles' visit, he will also attend a reception to launch the inaugural COP27 Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum. This is a two-day event that would run alongside the UN summit. The COP28 presidency, in strategic partnership with Charles' Sustainable Markets Initiative, will host the forum.
It seeks to bring together world leaders and global figures from business, finance, and philanthropy to drive forward climate and nature solutions and results. The British monarch has been a passionate advocate of environmental and climate causes for the last five decades.
King Charles previously attended the COP26 climate talks when he was still the Prince of Wales in 2021. During that particular event, which was held in Glasgow, Scotland, he urged countries to work with industries to create climate crisis solutions.
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Addressing the Climate Crisis
Pope Francis is also set to attend the Dubai event, saying in an interview that the world's future is at stake, as well as the future of our children and grandchildren. The 86-year-old religious leader has made protection of the environment one of the hallmarks of his papacy, according to Reuters.
The religious figure appealed in a major document on Oct. 4 to climate change deniers and foot-dragging politicians to have a change of heart. He said they could no longer gloss over human causes or deride science while the planet "may be nearing the breaking point."
The UAE has appointed Sultan Al Jaber, the chief executive of the state-owned oil company, as president of the COP28 talks. Oil is a fossil fuel and is one of the main causes of climate change. However, Jaber's oil company is still planning to expand production capacity, according to BBC.
