King Charles to skip COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan Reason disclosed

King Charles will not attend the upcoming COP29 climate conference, scheduled to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, next month.

The monarch, renowned for his advocacy of environmental issues, delivered a speech at last year's event in Dubai, Caliber.Az reports via British media.

At 75, King Charles is currently undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. Despite this, he will temporarily pause his treatment for an 11-day royal tour of Australia and Samoa, commencing next week. Since announcing his cancer diagnosis in February, the King’s only international engagement was a visit to Normandy in June for D-Day commemorations.

COP29 will begin on November 11, just over two weeks after the royal family’s return to the UK. During last year's conference, the King called on world leaders to implement "real action" against the climate crisis to shift nations away from practices that jeopardize global safety.

He missed the 2022 summit in Egypt after a "unanimous agreement" was reached, advising against his attendance due to government recommendations.

This year's COP, taking place in Baku following decisions made at COP28 in Dubai last December, is expected to attract between 70,000 and 80,000 international participants over two weeks. Established during the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aims to address the impacts of human activity on the climate. The COP meetings serve as the decision-making body of the convention, with the inaugural session held in Berlin in 1995.

As COP29 approaches, the focus will be on collaborative solutions to the global climate crisis, emphasizing the importance of human capital in fostering sustainable development and resilience.

By Tamilla Hasanova