"Our survival is in jeopardy," was King Charles III's message in the opening speech of COP28. The British monarch issued a "call to arms" to the more than 70,000 delegates from 197 countries who have come to Dubai, urging them to promote policies "to repair and restore nature's economy".

Charles III has predicted that COP28 will be "the critical turning point towards genuine transformative action" in the face of climate change. "This conference is an opportunity we can't miss to keep hope alive," he said. "I can only convey to you the sense of emergency we face and the need to face it with ambition and imagination."

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The Earth does not belong to us, we are the ones who belong to the Earth," stressed Carlos III, who asked delegates to open their eyes to the indigenous peoples' vision of the world. "We are all connected, not just as human beings but as living beings that sustain life on Earth."

It was his first inaugural address as king at a climate summit, following his speech as Prince of Wales at COP21 in Paris and COP26 in Glasgow. Upon his accession to the throne, Charles III anticipated that he would renounce activism and effectively cancelled his plans to attend Shar El-Sheikh's COP27, at the express request of Liz Truss, the 45-day premier.

On this occasion, the monarch was expressly invited by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nalhyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, criticised for his "climate apathy" and recent "reversal" on environmental policy, had no choice but to give the monarch the green light.

Charles III had the opportunity to get even in Dubai with his own words, two weeks after having read his first "King's Speech" (read at the dictation of the Government) in which he found himself in the trance of announcing the new licenses for the exploitation of gas and oil in the North Sea.

His speech at COP28 has not, however, been without criticism. The monarch flew to Dubai on his private plane, hours before Rishi Sunak also arrived on a jet. Foreign Secretary David Cameron also travelled on his own by private plane, while Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho flew on a commercial flight.

"This government is not against people reducing air flights," was the official response of a Downing Street spokesman, when justifying the use of up to three private jets to attend the climate summit. "Our approach to climate change is based on investing in new technologies for the future," he said

  • Environment
  • King Charles III of England
  • Climate Summit
  • Articles Carlos Fresneda
  • United Kingdom