Egypt says UK 'backtracking from the global climate agenda' as King Charles snubs COP27 summit

Egypt, which will host the COP27 climate summit in November, has "warned" the UK against "backtracking from the global climate agenda", according to The Guardian.

The news follows reports that King Charles III decided he will not go to the climate summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh amid rumours that Prime Minister Liz Truss forbid his attendance. 

"The COP president designate is disappointed by these reports [of Charles not attending COP27]," a spokesperson for the summit said. 

"The Egyptian presidency of the climate conference acknowledges the longstanding and strong commitment of His Majesty to the climate cause, and believes that his presence would have been of great added value to the visibility of climate action at this critical moment.

"We hope that this doesn’t indicate that the UK is backtracking from the global climate agenda after presiding over Cop26."

King Charles, who is known for promoting environmental issues, spoke at the opening ceremony of the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021.

He described it as a "last chance saloon" to save the world from climate change.

Egypt has been accused of preventing environmental groups and activists from researching and speaking out about the challenges the country faces. This is part of a massive crackdown on dissent in Egypt. 

Egypt, the host of COP27, is severely restricting environmental activists. Egyptian authorities should stop intimidating local activists and enable diverse civil society participation. #COP27 pic.twitter.com/STr3HPl0zp

— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) September 12, 2022

"The Egyptian government has imposed arbitrary funding, research, and registration obstacles that have debilitated local environmental groups, forcing some activists into exile and others to steer clear of important work," Richard Pearshouse, environment director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement last month.

"These restrictions violate the rights to freedom of assembly and association and threaten Egypt's ability to uphold its environmental and climate action commitments" as the host of COP27, the rights group added in a statement.

The country has imprisoned thousands of peaceful activists without charge and killed hundreds of protesters during a 2013 crackdown on demonstrations in Cairo known as the Rabaa Massacre.