“I am sure Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen will represent Australia well and make the strongest case he can for having us host COP.

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“But as a wealthy country, one of the highest emitters per capita and one of the biggest fossil fuel exporters in the world, will need to lift our game in the future,” Pocock said.

An Egyptian official, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said Albanese should also reconsider given Australia already has a poor reputation internationally on climate change.

“We understood that there would be a big delegation coming from Australia, led by the prime minister,” the official said.

“We were so happy when we thought they were coming with a big delegation, I don’t know what has reversed this,” they said. “I am worried about the negative messages the Australian absence might send internally, regionally and internationally.”

The official said Australia had a moral and political responsibility to attend given its neighbours in the Pacific face an existential threat from climate change.

“Participation of Mr Albanese will emphasise the duty of care from Australia to its small, yet important neighbours,” the official said.

“We are losing to climate change day after day and Australia is one of the biggest affected countries, you have had drought, bushfires, coastal erosion and floods all in recent years,” the official said.

The same official said they had also hinted to the UK that Egypt wanted the British government to relent on prohibiting King Charles III from attending COP, a position adopted by former Prime Minister Liz Truss and continued under Sunak.

At the time, Australia’s assistant minister for the republic Matt Thistlethwaite said the UK government’s interference made the King, a lifelong environmental campaigner, unsuitable as Australia’s head of state.

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“The British PM stopped our head of state attending the COP 27 conference to speak about the importance of stronger action to combat climate change,” he said.

“We need a head of state that represents the aspirations of the Australian people, not the wishes of the British government.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton suggested that Albanese was reluctant to leave Canberra because he feared leaving Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Treasurer Jim Chalmers in charge of running the country.

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