John Kerry to attend King’s Cop27 reception after saying it would be ‘very powerful’ for Charles to go to summit

Hannah Furness - Yesterday 

The King has invited Secretary John Kerry to Buckingham Palace for a pre-Cop27 reception, after the US special climate envoy said it would be “very powerful” for His Majesty to travel to the summit.


John Kerry met King Charles last year at the launch of the Terra Carta Transition Coalitions at St James Palace - Reuters© Reuters

The King is to host a lunchtime reception ahead of the climate change conference, bringing together more than 200 international business leaders, decision makers and NGOs.

Among the guests will be Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Ccp President Alok Sharma and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Secretary John Kerry.

The King is not travelling to Egypt for Cop27, in a decision said to have been made in “unanimous agreement” with the Government.


John Kerry, who attended COP26 in Glasgow, said it would be ‘terrific’ for leaders to be in Sharm El Sheikh in person - Yves Herman/Reuters© Provided by The Telegraph

Secretary Kerry has recently said it would be “terrific” for leaders including the monarchy to be in Sharm El Sheikh in person, saying specifically of King Charles: “I know that his being there would make a difference ... because he has credibility, because he has been a long-term leader.”

On Friday, he will attend the palace reception where the Prime Minister will speak briefly.

A spokesman for the palace said the King would “meet and hear from guests about practical measures to combat climate change and their plans for Cop27 and beyond”.

Among the invited business leaders will be representatives of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, the project to encourage the private sector to become more sustainable which he founded when he was Prince of Wales.

The reception will be considered a compromise in which the King can “engage” with the Cop27 environment summit without attending in person.

The King is said to have “mutually agreed” not to fly to Egypt, first on the advice of the previous Liz Truss government in a decision now upheld by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The “unanimous” decision between the Government and Buckingham Palace found it “would not be the right occasion for the King to visit in person”, Downing Street has said.

While Prince of Wales, he had originally planned to attend the conference in person and was expected to speak.

Of the decision not to go now he is King, a royal source said: “He is ever-mindful of his constitutional duties.

“While he may share the ambitions and hopes of those attending the summit, he is not giving policy advice or guidance - he is convening experts in the field to discuss all ways the world can tackle climate change, and how sustainable business can play its part.”

No member of the Royal Family will travel to Cop27, including the new Prince of Wales who has also made saving the planet one of his key campaigning issues.

It is a marked contrast to Cop26 in Glasgow last year, where senior members of the family attended en masse and the late Queen Elizabeth II delivered a powerful opening message urging world leaders to find solutions to save the planet.

On Friday, Therese Coffey, the Environment Secretary, said it was “up to him” whether the King attended the summit.

Downing Street later clarified that advice about the King’s travel had been “sought and provided” under Liz Truss’s government, and had not changed with Mr Sunak.