Sri Lanka completed a weeklong commemoration of World Environment Day amidst challenging weather conditions. The main event that was meant to take place in a village bordering the Sinharaja Forest Reserve was moved to Colombo and was instead held at the Presidential Secretariat on 5 June with the participation of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Minister of Environment.
While celebratory days play a small part in the big picture, The Sunday Morning sat down for a chat with Ministry of Environment Secretary Prabath Chandrakeerthi on how Sri Lanka was preparing for the upcoming 2024 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP 29) and where we stood regarding the targets of the Paris Agreement.
Following are excerpts:
Sri Lanka just completed celebrating its National Environment Week, which lasted from 30 May to 5 June. Can you explain the activities carried out by the Environment Ministry?
World Environment Day is marked on 5 June. The day was declared following a summit held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972, which focused on protecting the environment. The first summit was held from 5-16 June. Sri Lanka first celebrated World Environment Day on 5 June 1973 and has continued to celebrate it for five decades, under various themes.
Sri Lanka started marking the National Environment Week following a Cabinet paper submitted by the then Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment, which was approved in 2016. This year too we celebrated National Environment Week from 30 May to 5 June according to the circular issued by the Secretary to the President and in accordance with the Cabinet paper.
The circular is sent to all secretaries, chief secretaries, heads of departments, State corporations, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), and Government institutions.
This year’s UN theme focused on reversing land degradation, halting desertification, and building drought resilience. Sri Lanka focused on the theme of building a healthy nation through productive land use.
On 30 May we looked at how we will restore the land and how we can improve crop yield. On 31 May, we focused on controlling air pollution and reducing emissions; this was marked by the participation of the Sri Lanka Police, Ministry of Transport, and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), where spot checks of vehicles to test emission levels of carbon dioxide and other gases took place.
Sri Lanka has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 14.5% by 2030. The transport sector contributes towards generating most of the air pollution. Therefore, we decided to get all stakeholders involved when marking this day.
On 1 June we marked Water Conservation Day, on 2 June we marked Biodiversity Protection Day, and on 3 June we held an Environment Cleanup Day that involved all local authorities and other relevant agencies.
On 4 June we had the Plastic Pollution Management Day, which we marked at Bentota Beach with the participation of the Coast Conservation Department, the Ministry of Urban Development, the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), the private sector, Divisional Secretariats, and hotelier associations.
Although we planned to have the main event on 5 June in Kudawa, bordering the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, we moved it to the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo due to bad weather.
During the event, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the Minister of Environment, announced the Green Procurement Policy and declared a gazette notification to protect a forest area in the Ratnapura District. The event was attended by all stakeholders, as well as schoolchildren.
What collaborative efforts has the Ministry of Environment initiated with both State and corporate sector stakeholders as well as the public in achieving the environment-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
The Ministry of Environment, the public sector, or the other ministries and departments cannot complete these tasks alone. We have committed to the Paris Agreement and other UN conventions. To achieve these targets we have to collaborate with the corporate sector and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and improve community participation in our efforts.
By 2030, Sri Lanka’s energy sector has to achieve a target of 70% renewable energy. The Government alone cannot invest in that field. Especially given the country’s economic situation, the Government lacks the necessary monies to invest in such projects. Therefore, we encourage the participation of the private sector to achieve our 2030 target to increase Sri Lanka’s renewable energy sector to 70%.
We have to then reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14.5%, according to our commitments to the Paris Agreement. We have recognised six adaptation sectors: Power (Electricity), Transport, Industry, Waste Management, Forestry, and Agriculture.
Our forest coverage as of 2022 was nearly 29%. According to the Paris Agreement, we have to increase our forest coverage to 32% by 2030, which is a big challenge. To achieve these targets, we need to get the support of the community as well as the participation of other sectors. Considering the contributions towards climate change, we all have a part to play.
We must understand the impacts of climate change, as we are one of the most vulnerable countries to it. According to the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), Sri Lanka suffers as a country. Developed industrial countries suffer due to climate change as well.
The whole world now understands that climate change is a global crisis. However, certain countries have contributed more towards it. The West’s and the G20 countries’ contribution to combat climate change are not at the maximum level. From 1850-2021 (as recorded in carbonbrief.org), the West had used most of the global resources and emitted nearly 80% of the greenhouse gases. The Global North has a debt to the Global South for the use of the world’s resources. Their debt is calculated at nearly $ 40-45 trillion.
If you look at the financial debt of the Global South toward the Global North at present, it is nearly $ 12-15 trillion. Therefore, at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) in Kenya, Sri Lanka proposed a resolution to set off its financial debt against the greenhouse gas emission debts, but Europe and the US voted against it, so we were unable to adopt the resolution at the ACS.
At the COP 28 Climate Justice Forum, we proposed the Tropical Belt Initiative and established an International Climate Change University. We have allocated land for the university. However, we are waiting for financial assistance from other countries; we have already initiated a discussion with the Export-Import Bank of Korea regarding financial assistance to establish the university.
There is also a strategic plan for net-zero carbon emissions in 2050. Recently, when President Wickremesinghe participated in the Renewable Energy Forum with the World Bank and other stakeholders, he shared that we had to achieve a net-zero target not in 2050 but in 2040.
Achieving that target will be a significant challenge. We, as State ministries, departments, and institutions, cannot achieve these targets alone. We have to get support from private sector investors as well as global support to achieve these targets and combat the impact of climate change.
There are concerns over the degazetting of protected areas for development and investment projects. How will the Environment Ministry ensure that Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are carried out to protect the biodiversity of such areas?
According to the National Environmental Act, we declare protected areas by gazetting identified forest areas. Some areas come under the purview of other ministries. If the area in question is a protected area under the purview of the National Environmental Act, we can get directly involved in the matter.
For instance, if we are carrying out some projects within the coastal belt, that area comes under the Coast Conservation Department. It is required to carry out EIAs and relevant assessments. However, if it is beyond its boundary, the CEA will carry out the required assessments. If it is within a protected area gazetted under the National Environmental Act, the ministry will get involved.
However, some areas come under the Wildlife Conservation and Forest Departments and the respective ministries are responsible for carrying out the EIAs for such projects. As the Ministry of Environment, we have a responsibility towards protecting the environment as a whole.
I believe you are referring to the degazetting of nearly 1,000 hectares of the Wedithalathivu Nature Reserve, which is a protected area under the purview of the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation.
Regardless, President Wickremesinghe is keen to know about the impact this will have and we have now called for a report from the ministry. To some extent, we are carrying out the necessary investigations to look at the impact on protected areas and the CEA is assisting us with assessing the impacts of the solar and wind power farms established on Mannar Island.
Assessing impacts in certain areas that are under the purview of separate ministries is a problem that our ministry has to tackle. Therefore, in the coming months, President Wickremesinghe will introduce a new act. This will not be an amendment, but a new National Environment and Climate Change Act, incorporating both together. With this act in place, we will be able to address the various issues we have identified in the existing National Environmental Act.
If we consider the Ease of Doing Business Index, Sri Lanka is at 99. If an international investor comes to invest in Sri Lanka, they have to go to various institutions to get approvals. We have to look at streamlining the process of getting approvals for investors immediately.
Protecting the environment being our foremost responsibility, we have to conduct EIAs for such projects efficiently. We have to ensure that proper EIAs are carried out before the lands are allocated to such projects and that approvals are given before they start the groundwork in order to ensure that we can improve the country’s economic situation and develop it in a sustainable manner.
COP 29 is just months away. What steps are we taking to prepare for the event?
COP 29 will be held in Azerbaijan in November. However, Sri Lanka might have to prepare for elections during September-October. Regardless, our delegation is preparing for COP 29. Therefore, in the coming weeks, we will discuss the actions we have to follow from COP 28 and follow up on the suggestions we have made so far at the Climate Change Forum – the Tropical Belt Initiative and the Climate Change University.
At the COP 29 pavilion, in collaboration with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), we will host our events to discuss matters. We will continue the conversations from COP 28, for instance on the Loss and Damage Fund and how it will help poor and vulnerable countries. Since Sri Lanka is a vulnerable country, we will discuss how we could get funding to address climate disasters and their impacts (flooding and landslides at present).
Are there strong case studies or initiatives that have worked well in addressing the increasing imbalances of our environment and climate?
We should not only consider our commitments to the Paris Agreement; as a country, we have to take certain actions to combat climate change impacts as well. At present, we have some foreign-funded projects; we recently signed with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to implement nature protection projects that will go beyond the dry zone and include the wet zone.
Forest coverage has been identified within the plantation sector. We have identified protected areas mostly in the dry zone and with this recent initiative, we are able to protect areas with high biodiversity within the wet zone inside the plantation sector.
We are holding several discussions with the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs), the Ministry of Plantation Industries, and the Ministry of Agriculture on how we will protect the forest coverage within the plantation sector. We have carried out research in consultation with various institutions to identify the biodiversity in these areas.
The Ministry of Environment cosigned a $ 4 million fund granted by the UNDP, alongside the Ministry of Plantation Industries and the Ministry of Agriculture, to implement this project with community participation and private sector involvement. We have identified certain species endemic to various regions and are looking at implementing projects to protect those species and conserve the high biodiversity in those regions.
In the dry zone, we will continue to conduct the projects we have started, such as eco-labelling and producing green products. With the continuous support of the UNDP, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) partnerships, the Green Climate Fund, and all developmental partners, we are initiating several projects at the moment.
We have three institutions under the Environment Ministry – the CEA, Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB), and the Sri Lanka Climate Fund. The Sri Lanka Climate Fund is registered under the Companies Act and through this institution, we are measuring the carbon and water footprint in the State and corporate industries and even within the agriculture sector. If we are aiming for net-zero targets in 2050, we have to measure our carbon footprint individually.
Our first attempt at measuring the carbon footprint was done during International Biodiversity Day at the Horton Plains National Park. We measured the total carbon footprint of all stakeholders who attended the event and we offset the carbon footprint. We measured our carbon emissions for the event and once we offset our carbon footprint, we will be able to purchase carbon credits for the country.
The CEA is now in the process of updating the Environmental Protection License (EPL) with the assistance of the Accelerating Industries’ Climate Response in Sri Lanka project. The revised EPL will include climate change data and can be accessed through an online EPL system.
For the 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submissions, the UNFCCC has set ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction targets that cover all greenhouse gases, sectors, and categories, to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. What are the guidelines we have implemented to regulate high emission levels?
We have prepared the 2022-2023 NDCs in the National Implementation Plan (NIP) with the participation of all stakeholders, ministries, and departments and we measured the volume of greenhouse gases they emit. According to the NIP, we identified six adaptation sectors for which we will have a progress meeting in July with all relevant stakeholders on how to achieve these targets by 2030 and thereafter the 2050 target. With the President’s request to reduce it to 2040, we consider the target challenging.
Therefore, all ministries have to incorporate the NIP in their future projects and action plans. All ministries and departments should be aware of the NIP. I believe we can achieve the targets once they all collaborate in the effort. They will have to calculate emissions in the transport sector, the energy sector, industry, forestry, agriculture, and waste management. We also have conditional and unconditional targets. Altogether, we have to reduce 14.5% of emissions by 2030 according to the NIP.
The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) requires identifying medium- and long-term adaptation needs and developing strategies to address them. Has the ministry identified these needs for the country?
The Climate Change Secretariat prepared the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Sri Lanka from 2011 to 2016. Thereafter, Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to submit the NAP for 2016 to 2025. In this, we have short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans.
In the upcoming year, we have to revise that plan, rethink the next plan, and implement them. We will have to prepare the revised plan for the 2025-2030 period in the NAP. We have to focus on the six sectors I have mentioned for adaptation; we can then move forward with our revised NAP.
What measures have we taken to be gender-sensitive, ensure gender participation in initiatives, and maintain transparency when it comes to adapting NAPs that incorporate the best available science and traditional knowledge in Sri Lanka?
We have to incorporate our traditional knowledge. We are going to establish a climate-smart village. Within Sri Lanka, we have committed to establish 10,000 climate-smart villages. Nevertheless, not only the Ministry of Environment but other ministries and departments as well, especially the Samurdhi Development Department, are carrying out certain village-level activities to establish industrial villages with the collaboration of the Ministry of Industries.
Therefore, we need to have traditional know-how. At present, we are cutting trees and clearing areas for development. However, during ancient times, people worshipped trees. Our ancestors lived with the environment and protected it, and I do not believe that the impact of climate change was this severe at the time.
The highest global temperatures in all of recorded history were recorded in the last seven years. India’s temperature is now at 52 degrees Celsius. By incorporating traditional knowledge and know-how, we can take action against climate change; we have to examine our traditional knowledge. We implemented projects such as ‘Wew Gam Pubuduwa’ – the healthy landscaping project in dry zone areas where we used to have traditional cascade systems in the past (Ellanga System).
We have applied this system in our new projects in the dry zone to supply water in a cascade method. We have to obtain more of this traditional knowledge from our people.
Is Sri Lanka in a position to look at Long-Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS) yet? Is it relevant to us?
We are yet to start discussions on LT-LEDS for Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, according to the Paris Agreement and our commitments, we have taken initiatives to reduce greenhouse gases by 14.5% by 2030 and to achieve net-zero by 2050 or 2040. As per our commitments, we prepared the action plan and adaptation strategies and have implementation plans accordingly.
The per capita carbon emission for Sri Lanka is nearly 0.8 tonnes. If we compare with the West, the US emits nearly 14.9 tonnes per capita, Canada 14.6 tonnes per capita, and the UK nearly seven tonnes per capita. Therefore, in comparison with other countries, Sri Lanka’s emission rate is very low.
However, the West emits 80% of the greenhouse gases while the rest of the countries emit only 20%. While being committed to achieve Paris Agreement targets, we should also look at the realities of our contribution as a country.
What are the challenges Sri Lanka faces in implementing the NDCs and the NAP in order to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement? What are our plans to overcome them?
As a country, Sri Lanka has to think locally but act globally. The entire world understands climate change as a crisis. We have to work together to combat this crisis.
Sri Lanka cannot achieve 70% renewable energy by 2030 through Government sector investment alone. The private sector must intervene with investments. We have to work together with all State, corporate, NGO, and global stakeholders. In truth, Sri Lanka has not emitted much greenhouse gases; the Global North and other industrially developed nations have contributed more in terms of greenhouse gas emissions over the decades.
To achieve these ambitious targets, we need the support of all sectors and everyone needs to understand the situation. Especially when it comes to the floods Sri Lanka is experiencing at present, we are distributing dry rations and emergency relief and are not taking action beyond that. However, these climate disasters are the impact of climate change and are taking place due to global warming. Therefore, the entire world should understand that we have to work together to face these challenging events.
These are the challenging situations that Sri Lanka – a country ranked at the second position in the list of the most vulnerable countries – faces. If we do not identify or fail to understand the challenges we are facing, alongside other stakeholders and countries, we will not be able to find solutions or achieve targets and the entire world will suffer due to the adverse effects of climate change.