King Charles III will attend the COP28 climate summit in Dubai next month, Buckingham Palace confirmed.

The King — a longstanding advocate of bolder action to combat climate change — will deliver the opening address at the World Climate Action Summit, the gathering of global leaders which will open the two-week annual conference.

It will be the first time he has attended a COP summit as King. Having played a major diplomatic role as Prince of Wales at the U.K.-hosted COP26 in 2021, there was confusion last year as to whether he would attend the COP27 summit in Egypt. Downing Street eventually confirmed that he would not go as it was not the “right occasion.”

This year, the King will attend “at the invitation” of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and “at the request” of the U.K. government, Buckingham Palace said.

He will speak at the summit on Friday 1 December and will “take the opportunity to have meetings with regional leaders” ahead of the event, according to a statement from the palace.