Overview
- Photographs from a St James’s Palace reception show King Charles being cooled by his Master of the Household with a small battery fan as guests felt intense heat during a London climate week event.
- Energy Secretary Ed Miliband made safety announcements at the reception and warned the extreme heat is becoming the new normal while organisers provided a nurse and a quieter room for anyone affected.
- The reception, hosted by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, focused on accelerating action on super‑pollutants such as methane, black carbon and tropospheric ozone and featured NGOs including the Clean Air Task Force and the Wellcome Trust.
- Organisers said the historic palace lacks air conditioning and supplied large fans and hand‑held fans to cope with the heat, illustrating how older venues and public events must adapt as temperatures rise.
- The UK’s leadership role on short‑lived climate pollutants, which it began co‑chairing with Brazil in March 2024 through the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, was highlighted as policymakers argued rapid methane cuts can deliver near‑term climate, health and energy‑security benefits.