Prince William will attend the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil next year, representing his father King Charles who continues cancer treatment. Kensington Palace confirmed the Prince of Wales will give a speech at the United Nations conference in Belem, marking a significant expansion of his international responsibilities.
The announcement coincided with a rare joint appearance by father and son at the Natural History Museum for a "Countdown to Cop30" reception. The pair arrived together in the state Bentley, chatting and smiling as they walked up the museum steps side by side amid intense flash photography.
Royal climate diplomacy shift
This will be William's first international Cop summit, having previously only attended Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021 alongside his father. The 76-year-old King has led royal climate diplomacy in recent years, attending the conferences in person when his health permitted.
The Prince of Wales is already travelling to Brazil in November for his Earthshot Prize awards in Rio, but will extend his stay to join world leaders at the Amazon summit six weeks later. The move represents a major development in the heir to the throne's global environmental leadership role.
High-profile environmental gathering
Thursday's reception brought together politicians, climate ambassadors, scientists and environmental charity representatives, including a Brazilian delegation. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds and former Prime Minister Theresa May attended the event hosted by the museum and UK Government.
The King and William were last pictured together at the same London museum in 2019, when they joined the Duke of Sussex and Sir David Attenborough for the premiere of the broadcaster's Our Planet series. Their relationship with Harry has since become troubled.
William's evolving royal vision
The Prince of Wales recently outlined his approach to his future role as king, telling Eugene Levy for Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveller that "change is on my agenda - change for good". He said he wanted to "question things more" and described being Prince of Wales and king as a "job".
William emphasised that while he takes his "roles" and "responsibilities" seriously, "you don't feel they own you - you have to own them". Earlier this year, he called for urgent collective action on rising sea temperatures, plastic pollution and overfishing at Monaco's Blue Economy and Finance Forum.
Royal Cop summit history
King Charles missed Cop27 in Egypt in 2022 following government advice during Liz Truss's tenure as Prime Minister, despite reportedly hoping to attend the first climate summit of his reign. He returned to lead at Cop28 in Dubai in 2023, warning delegates the world remained "dreadfully far off track" on climate targets.
The King was forced to miss Cop29 in Azerbaijan last year due to his cancer diagnosis. He has previously attended climate summits in 2015 and 2021, establishing a strong royal presence at the international environmental gatherings.
UK climate ambitions
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband described the museum gathering as an "incredible coalition" that "speaks to the fact that in their workplaces, in their schools, in their communities, in their places of worship, people up and down Britain know that tackling the climate and nature crisis is the right thing to do for today's generations and future generations".
He said Britain would work with Brazil and other countries at Cop30 to "push for greater global action on issues from clean energy and finance to forests and adaptation". Miliband added: "Together let's carry Britain's call for climate action and leadership to Belem and beyond it."
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
