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SL meets global challenges on climate change with comprehensive strategy
View(s):As Sri Lanka agreed to sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (CC) coming Friday at the United Nations headquarters in New York, a comprehensive strategy has been put in place to meet the global challenges on CC.
A Blue-Green development strategy was adopted by the Government for the sustainable development of the country including the setting up of 10,000 environment friendly villages throughout the country by 2020.
Science, Technology and Research Minister Susil Premajayantha will sign the agreement on behalf of the President. The five programmes will kick off from next year with the collaboration of community organisations to implement the ‘Green Environmental Beautiful Sri Lanka’ programme.
Moves to adopt a comprehensive strategy came when President Maithripala Sirisena submitted a Cabinet paper detailing how Government will tackle the issues of CCs, as a developing nation that has signed the Paris agreement.
The Blue Economy is the oceanic economy and marine resources adopting policies to ensure sustainability of marine wealth by preserving marine biological resources, while Green economy would include ensuring all industrial production becomes eco-friendly, bringing in the green element into sectors such as construction, transport and urban and rural development.
“Sri Lanka has to adopt appropriate measures to curb the rise of global warming, especially because it is a developing island nation, highly vulnerable to adverse effect of CC that affects all social, economical, and development activities,” the Blue-Green policy paper notes while outlining future challenges.
When world leaders attended the 21st session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris last year, it was resolved that all possible actions be taken to limit the rise of global warming below 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. For developing nations like Sri Lanka, the limit was set at 1.5 degrees Celsius.