The UK's new prime minister Rishi Sunak "is not expected" to attend the UN's Cop 27 climate change conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in November, according to a spokesperson at Downing Street.
This is because the prime minister "has other pressing domestic commitments", the spokesperosn said, including preparations for the UK's autumn budget statement, which has been postponed to 17 November.
"The Government is absolutely committed to supporting Cop 27 and leading international action to tackle climate change and protect nature," the spokesperson said.
The UK will be represented by Cop 26 president Alok Sharma, who lost his cabinet minister role in Sunak's reshuffle earlier this week. Downing Street said that other senior ministers will go to Cop 27, but did not provide further details. "They will be working to ensure that countries continue to make progress on the ground-breaking commitments made at Cop 26 in Glasgow," the spokesperson said. The UK has presided over Cop since Glasgow last year, and will hand over to Egypt at Cop 27.
Grant Shapps was appointed secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy in Sunak's cabinet, while Graham Stuart remained minister of state for climate. It is unclear if King Charles III will attend Cop 27, following earlier reports that he would not under former prime minister Liz Truss.
Sharma earlier month said that he would like to see the King go to Cop 27, as he is not only the UK's head of state but also other countries, "some of which are very much at the frontline of climate change".
