The Hon. Dammika Patabendi - Minister of Environment

¶ 01 INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING: CONTRIBUTION BY SRI LANKA

¶ 02 (a) (i) Sri Lanka’s climate action priorities and implementation:

¶ 03 Sri Lanka, as a tropical island state in the Indian Ocean, is already experiencing severe impacts of climate variability. Sri Lanka has been a Party to the UNFCCC since 1993 and signed the Paris Agreement in 2016. The Paris Agreement aims to keep the global temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C, strengthening global response to climate change, enhancing adaptive capacity and resilience, and aligning financial flows with low-emission and climate-resilient development.

¶ 04 Key contributions and actions coordinated by the Climate Change Secretariat include:

¶ 05 1. Preparation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - NDC 1 (submitted 2016): set initial mitigation and adaptation targets. - NDC 2 (covering 2021–2030): nationally updated with more ambitious targets and progress-tracking. - NDC 3.0 (approved by Cabinet on 22.09.2025; covering 2026–2035): aligns broad climate actions with national development priorities across 16 sectors. Mitigation sectors: electricity (power), transport, industry, waste management, forestry, and agriculture. Vulnerable/adaptation sectors: agriculture, livestock, fisheries, water, biodiversity, coastal and marine environment, health, urban planning and human settlements, and tourism/recreation. - Implementation is overseen by an inter-agency national task force, the Ministry of Environment, the Climate Change Secretariat, and sectoral planning and oversight committees. The Ministry of Environment, as UNFCCC focal point, monitors and reports national progress on NDCs.

¶ 06 Resourcing: Non-conditional activities require budgetary provision for actions, technology assessment, and MRV frameworks, with capacity building and staff training for involved institutions.

¶ 07 2. Carbon Net-Zero Roadmap and Strategic Plan for 2050 Although Sri Lanka is comparatively low-emitting, emissions may rise with economic growth. Consistent with the Paris temperature goals (well below 2°C, pursuing 1.5°C), Sri Lanka, via its updated NDCs (2021), committed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Net-Zero Roadmap and Strategic Plan is being developed to provide a realistic platform for action, focusing on priority mitigation sectors, enhancing greenhouse gas reductions, and increasing carbon sequestration, with attention to gender equality and socio-economic and environmental sustainability.

¶ 08 3. Updated National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for 2026–2035 The NAP process integrates climate adaptation into national development, reduces risk, and builds a sustainable future. The 2026–2035 NAP (second-generation, updating the 2016–2025 plan) expands covered sectors from nine to thirteen (agriculture; export agriculture; livestock; fisheries; ecosystems and biodiversity; water; coastal and marine; tourism and recreation; human settlements and infrastructure; health; energy; industry; and transport). For the first time, costed, province-based adaptation plans have been prepared to ensure subnational relevance aligned with local risks and priorities.

¶ 09 4. Financing mechanisms for adaptation and loss and damage; Sri Lanka’s engagement - Adaptation Fund: Established under the Kyoto Protocol to fund concrete adaptation projects and programmes (e.g., water management, agriculture, coastal protection, DRR, ecosystem-based solutions) to strengthen community resilience. Sri Lanka accesses this to support vulnerable communities. - Loss and Damage Response Fund (FRLD): An international climate financing mechanism established at COP28 (2023) to support developing countries facing economic and non-economic losses and damages, including from slow-onset events. Under the Barbados Implementation Modality (BIM), US$250 million has been provisioned for 2025–2026, with a first Call for Funding Requests (CFR) under COP-30 for the period 15 Dec 2025 to 15 June 2026, emphasizing country-led, bottom-up proposals via the FRLD Secretariat. - Green Climate Fund (GCF): Sri Lanka actively contributes to international climate action through engagement with the GCF as National Designated Authority, supporting both mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

¶ 10 (ii) The programme the Government expects to implement in the coming year in terms of the COP-30 agreement: - Submit funding proposals to the Loss and Damage Fund (FRLD) within the CFR window (15 Dec 2025–15 Jun 2026) focusing on country-priority, bottom-up interventions for climate-induced losses and damages. - Advance NDC 3.0 implementation (2026–2035) across 16 sectors with MRV strengthening, sectoral action plans, and inter-agency coordination. - Finalize and operationalize the 2050 Net-Zero Roadmap and Strategic Plan, initiating priority mitigation and sequestration measures. - Operationalize the updated 2026–2035 NAP, including costed provincial adaptation plans; mobilize finance from Adaptation Fund and GCF; build institutional capacity and technical expertise across implementing agencies.

¶ 11 Placed in the Library.