Sri Lanka needs United States dollars ($) 100 billion (Bn) to become a nett-zero emitter by 2040, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday (28).
Sri Lanka will focus on green financing tools, including debt for nature swaps as it attempts to reach the nett-zero target, Wickremesinghe told Reuters in an interview. But he added that it does not have immediate plans to utilise green bonds.
“Some funds will come from investors who are interested, and I think that we have an early start compared to others. We may invite in foreign investments. Regarding the rest, let’s hope that our economy picks up and we have sufficient money to put into it,” he said.
“The tropical belt has virtually 40% of the forests, and in 2040, it will have 50% of the world’s population, so let’s fix it in the tropical belt. That also has an impact elsewhere,” Wickremesinghe said, pointing out that it could make a “radical change” in the fight against climate change.