Sunak says he’s not going to attend the Cop27 climate summit.

Oh there’s definitely climate change, no doubt about that. It’s how to deal with it that’s the problem.

Alie2Oxon I hope your daughter made a good recovery. Was she in the UK when she collapsed? How worrying it must have been for you.

It has nothing to do with being too busy and everything to do with the ideology he is pursuing, otherwise the King would be trotting to Egypt, as he is more than willing to go.

Maybe he's slightly concerned about Egypt's political landscape.

I still think the King should be “allowed” to go.

And goodness me doesn’t that emphasise his purely ritual/figurehead role

Apparently it’s not the first time a British PM hasn’t attended a COP meeting.
Who knew?

Tory MPs calling for the King to attend.

Whitewavemark2

Tory MPs calling for the King to attend.

Maybe tongue in cheek, but if the king wanted to go he certainly is qualified.

Katie59

Whitewavemark2

Tory MPs calling for the King to attend.

Maybe tongue in cheek, but if the king wanted to go he certainly is qualified.

Exactly

Lucca

I still think the King should be “allowed” to go.

And goodness me doesn’t that emphasise his purely ritual/figurehead role

I imagine that was a message they were conveying - to him.

maddyone

Apparently it’s not the first time a British PM hasn’t attended a COP meeting.
Who knew?

Do you have any more information on that maddyone? I imagine its because COP has been going for nearly 30 years and they couldn't get anybody interested to begin with, but I'd like to know more.

Thanks.

I believe Rishi Sunak's decision is the right one at the moment. Evidently King Charles is mindful of his new constitutional role as monarch and understands that a short trip to Egypt would not be appropriate for his first state visit abroad. They've both got their hands full at the moment I'm sure. Four senior ministers will be there it's reported.

Yes and Therese Coffey is one of the ministers going, and after her car crash interview on Breakfast TV about recycling coffee cups a class of junior school children would do better in her place.

Farzanah

Yes and Therese Coffey is one of the ministers going, and after her car crash interview on Breakfast TV about recycling coffee cups a class of junior school children would do better in her place.

Maybe she will grow into the job!.

volver

It's not too late. Some of it is inevitable and tipping points have been passed, but Ed Miliband on the radio this lunchtime hit the nail on the head.

It's not either/or. Every 0.1 degree temperature rise we avoid saves lives. We can't give up.

I too would sooner listen to Attenborough than Miliband.

The latter is correct inasmuch as every fraction of a degree counts and I agree we cannot give up. But there’s no turning back the clock.

Katie59

Whitewavemark2

Tory MPs calling for the King to attend.

Maybe tongue in cheek, but if the king wanted to go he certainly is qualified.

No, not tongue in cheek but a serious call - look at what one of them said - Tobias Ellwood - considers King Charles one of the best representatives of U.K. and should attend.

Dopey Coffey (“my contribution to the environment is to use re-usable cups”) - imagine being lumbered with her as your minister- thought the King was going until No 10 put her right.

I do not see why attending COP would mean Sunak can't equally get on with sorting things out here. Putting in an appearance might mean a lot to Third World countries, and the environment clearly is THE most important subject, because if we don't sort it, and soon, it's quite possibly 'Bye bye humanity'. But if he really is too busy, let the King go. I get the point about the fuel used in the planes to get everyone there, but if any journey is worth it, this could be. I can see that the technology to do the meeting electronically might not be quite 'there' but surely that's a problem that could be sorted if we gave it the priority it deserves? Many questions - but one thing is for sure, to paraphrase a Native American saying 'Only when the last tree is felled, the last field reaped. the last fruit picked will the white man understand that you can't eat money!'

What will it take to convince some people that global warming is real? The COUNTRYSIDE tells you. Your BODY tells you. Things don't feel right, they are not the same as when I was younger - and not in a good way. I fear for my grandchildren, but I think they are growing up with a different mindset and will hopefully come up with some radical answers. Anger at us may give them added emotional drive to make changes - hope something kick-starts a shift in consciousness.

volver

I heard that this isn’t the first time that a British PM hasn’t attended a COP meeting on the television news this morning. It was said that only one COP meeting was attended during the Blair/Brown years and further meeting(s) were missed since then. I’m sorry to have little more than that to go on, I tried to enlist Mr Google’s help but he was uncooperative. That’s why I said who knew? Because I certainly didn’t know and still don’t know that much now. Sorry to be not much help. Maybe someone else knows a bit more than me.

Thank you for checking that maddyone.

I do wonder of its because there was so much avoidance of the truth to begin with, and the PMs thought it wasn't a big deal?

If Sunak is too busy trying to disentangle his predecessors mess - then the king should go.

Well, you'll never guess who is planning to attend

www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/29/no-10-alarm-as-boris-johnson-plans-to-attend-chttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/29/no-10-alarm-as-boris-johnson-plans-to-attend-cop27-climate-summitop27-climate-summit

I think he's trolling Sunak...

Well, he's King of the World, so I guess he's entitled to attend.

Johnson staying in the limelight. Probably going in a private jet.

So we’re being represented by a discredited ex PM and Coffey… Great…

Oh, wonderful....