King Charles to host John Kerry at Cop27 Buckingham Palace reception

King to bring together 200 business leaders, politicians and campaigners before Cop27 begins

Britain's King Charles II. Reuters

King Charles is set to host a reception at Buckingham Palace next Friday before November’s Cop27 climate conference begins.

Bringing together 200 business leaders, politicians and campaigners, the gathering in London will be held on November 4, a couple of days before the summit begins in Egypt.

During Liz Truss’s premiership, it was announced the king would not attend the climate conference, a position that has not changed under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Mr Sunak will not attend Cop27 either, but will attend the Buckingham Palace reception.

He is expected to speak alongside guests discussing practical measures to tackle climate change.

The pre-conference event will mark the end of the UK's role as host of Cop26, Buckingham Palace said.

US climate envoy John Kerry and Alok Sharma, president of Cop26, will also attend the event before the annual climate conference moves on to Sharm El Sheikh.

Sharm El Sheikh's preparations for Cop27 - in pictures

A billboard in Sharm El Sheikh ahead of the climate summit. All photos: Mahmoud Nasr / The National

Electric car chargers have been installed in petrol stations in Sharm El Sheikh to help the city go green.

Egypt's first electric bus charging station has started working ahead of Cop27.

Buses charge up at the station.

Solar panel power stations will provide energy for the city during Cop27.

Panel power in the sunlit desert.

As a longstanding campaigner on environmental issues, King Charles has warned of the dangers of climate change.

Last year, he gave an impassioned speech about the urgency of facing the climate challenge at Cop26 and called for the global response to be put on a "war-like footing".

Cop27 baton relay - in pictures

Running Out of Time's operations director Hetty Key with support crew member Mike Borgen, who is travelling with the baton the whole way from Scotland to Egypt. Photo: Running Out Of Time

Schoolchildren in Glasgow kicked off the start of the baton relay on Sept 30. Photo: Running Out Of Time

In front of the London Bridge during the UK portion of the relay. Photo: Running Out Of Time

Participants can run, cycle or sail their stage, with the number of people per stage varying from one to 25. Photo: Running Out Of Time

The baton was carried by sailboat across the English Channel from the UK to France on Oct 9. Photo: Running Out Of Time

Out of the 38 days of the relay, six are on water. Photo: Running Out Of Time

A stage in Belgium on Oct 11. The baton has traveled non-stop, day and night. Photo: Running Out Of Time

He is said to not be disappointed about missing Cop27 and accepts that as monarch he has to consider the advice of government ministers.

It was confirmed on Friday that the king’s decision not to attend the event remains unchanged under the new prime minister.

It has not been ruled out that he could still make an online contribution to the event, such as a video message.

Access limited for Cop27 climate activists — in pictures

The Cop27 summit in Sharm El Sheikh is the first annual UN climate conference to be held after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Campaigners see it as a crucial venue for raising the alarm over climate change and putting pressure on governments to act. All photos: Reuters

But they say voicing their concerns through rallies and protests as they have done in past host countries or cities will be more challenging in Egypt, where public demonstrations are effectively banned and activists have struggled to operate legally.

Limits on accreditation and attendance badges for activists, especially from poorer nations, have also been a point of contention at previous UN climate summits.

Egypt, which has only one NGO permanently accredited to attend the annual summits, says the inclusion of civil society is a priority, and it has helped to add more NGOs, including 35 Egyptian groups, through a single-year admission valid only for Cop27.

That was a positive step but the process was not publicly announced and did not give some groups a fair chance to apply, said Hossam Bahgat, head of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and one of Egypt's best known campaigners.

A representative of Egypt's Cop presidency said there had been a 'fully transparent' selection process approved by the UN after consultation with regional organisations and national negotiating teams. Egyptian groups were recommended based on their environment and climate change expertise, the representative said. A UN climate change spokesman said there had been about 10,000 registrations from close to 2,000 admitted observer organisations for Cop27, which was similar to Cop26 in Glasgow.

Another concern among activists is the difficulty ordinary citizens may face in visiting Sharm El Sheikh. The city, situated at the southern tip of Egypt's Sinai peninsula, is bordered by the sea on one side and a concrete and wire barrier in the desert on the other.

Some of those hoping to travel from outside Egypt have been put off by hotel prices that ran into hundreds of dollars a night earlier in the year. After lobbying from civil society, the government negotiated a $120 price cap for two-star hotels and announced cheaper accommodation in recent weeks. That included rooms for 400 young people at about $30 to $40 a night, and was designed to help African groups overcome long-standing obstacles to having access to Cop summits, said Omnia El-Omrani, Cop27's youth envoy.