COP27 dates: when does the 2022 climate change summit start in Egypt - and what will be on conference agenda?

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that King Charles will not be attending COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

World leaders are getting ready to attend COP27 this November.

The UN climate conference is entering its 30th year, with key themes of this year’s event focussing on climate finance and the environmental impact of climate change.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

COP26 was held in Glasgow in 2021 and featured a speech from King Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales.

However, this year, the King will not be attending the event with claims suggesting the British Prime Minister (PM) Liz Truss advised him not to.

Here’s everything you need to know about what COP27 is and what dates it’ll take place.

Cop 27 will be taking part in November 2022 after being postponed due to Covid-19 (Pic: Getty Images)Cop 27 will be taking part in November 2022 after being postponed due to Covid-19 (Pic: Getty Images)
Cop 27 will be taking part in November 2022 after being postponed due to Covid-19 (Pic: Getty Images)

What is COP27?

COP which stands for the Conference of the Parties are a series of UN climate change conferences.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Following on from the Rio Earth summit in 1992, a conference for climate change was established, with the first COP meeting taking place in Berlin in 1995.

The governments included in COP have all signed up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol or the Paris Agreement.

The COP conference is hosted once a year in a new location, in 2021 COP26 was hosted in Glasgow.

There was no COP conference in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When does COP27 start?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

COP27 will take place from Monday 7 November to Friday 18 November.

The conference was originally due to take place in November 2021, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Where is COP27 being held?

COP27 will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The conference has been described as an “African COP” with the event’s tagline “Together for implementation”.

It’s expected the severe impact countries in Africa are facing due to climate change, including droughts, floods, erosion and desertification will be key topics of discussion.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Speaking about the conference, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said: “I deeply believe that COP27 is an opportunity to showcase unity against an existential threat that we can only overcome through concerted action and effective implementation.”

However there have been concerns about Egypt’s human rights record following a report from Amnesty International that claimed Egypt was in the midst of a “human rights crisis”.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General said: “President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi must acknowledge the depth of the human rights crisis, for which his government is responsible, and take concrete action to resolve it.”

Egyptian Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad gives an interview ahead of Cop 27 conference in November (Pic: AFP via Getty Images) Egyptian Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad gives an interview ahead of Cop 27 conference in November (Pic: AFP via Getty Images)
Egyptian Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad gives an interview ahead of Cop 27 conference in November (Pic: AFP via Getty Images)

What will be on the conference agenda?

The conference has set out key objectives to be explored during COP27.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One of the main objectives will be the pledge to limit global warming to below 2C and how to keep the 1.5C target.

Other key areas include addressing extreme weather events such as flooding or forest fires, with the objective to enhance “global agenda for action on adaptation”, climate finance and support and collaboration to turn what was discussed at Glasgow COP26 into action.

Reported by the Guardian in May 2022, Rania Al Mashat, Egypt’s Minister for International Cooperation outlined the importance of climate finance.

She said: “For us, what we want this COP to be about is moving from pledges to implementation. And we want to highlight what are the practical policies and practices, the processes that can actually push the pledges, to bridge that gap.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Minister added: “We want this COP to be about the practicalities: what is it that we need to do to operationalise the pledges into implementation?”

King Charles delivers a speech at Cop 26 as Prince of Wales in 2021 (Pic: Getty Images)King Charles delivers a speech at Cop 26 as Prince of Wales in 2021 (Pic: Getty Images)
King Charles delivers a speech at Cop 26 as Prince of Wales in 2021 (Pic: Getty Images)

Will King Charles be at COP27?

King Charles, who is known for being an active climate change campaigner will not be attending COP27.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the news, which would have been the King’s first visit overseas as monarch.

Reported by The Sunday Times, it suggested the British Prime Minister Liz Truss had advised the King not to attend.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Palace confirmed “With mutual friendship and respect there was agreement that the King would not attend”.

The British Royal Family have often attended the conference, at last year’s event in Glasgow the King, who was Prince of Wales at the time gave a speech at the opening ceremony.

In it he urged world leaders “to find practical ways of overcoming differences so we can all get down to work, together, to rescue this precious planet and save the threatened future of our young people.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.