Why did Rishi Sunak make a dramatic exit at a COP27 session?

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday made a dramatic exit from an ongoing session of the COP27 summit by his aides. leaving people confused as to what had happened.

A video of the incident was shared by director of UK-based website Carbon Brief – Leo Hickman. “UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has just been rushed out of the room by his aides during the middle of the launch for forests partnership at COP27,” he tweeted.

An aide had come onto the stage, according to Hickman, and whispered in Sunak’s ear “for more than a minute”, what seemed like a discussion of whether he should be leaving at the moment. At first, the UK Prime Minister did not leave the stage but when another aide came up to him to persuade again, he got out of the chair and left the room.

Harry Cole, political editor at The Sun, later shared the video on his Twitter handle and said the Downing Street sources told him that it was “no biggie”, just a late decision. “Downing Street sources insist this was no biggie but a late decision to meet with Germans and South Africans. Despite the imagery…,” Cole said. There was no official statement from Downing Street on the video.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly referred to as Conference of the Parties – or COP27 – was inaugurated in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday.

In his first international appearance since becoming the PM, Sunak said that the war was a reason to act faster in decisions tackling climate change. “We can bequeath our children a greener planet and a more prosperous future… There really is room for hope,” he said.

Sunak called on nations to honour the promises made in Glasgow Impact Pact and direct public and private finance towards the protection of the planet. The UK Prime Minister is also slated to hold several meetings with his fellow world leaders to discuss new partnerships on energy security, green technology and other environment-related policies.