Sri Lanka

The overarching principle of this policy is to minimise the natural resources and toxic materials used, and the waste and pollutants generated, throughout the entire production and consumption process in all economic sectors. It notably aims to mainstream climate and disaster resilience into the management of water and sanitation, into the development of energy, industry and tourism sectors. It also seeks to promote disaster and climate resilient buildings and constructions.

One of the plan's missions is titled "Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change", and includes plans to: 
1. Establish country specific policies and action plans to counter adverse climate change impacts. 
2. Promote the use of economically viable, environment friendly, renewable energy resources, with emphasis on non-conventional energy resources. 
3. Optimize energy consumption through energy efficiency in enterprises and promoting substitution of fossil fuels by renewable energies in economic and production sectors. 
4. Promote supply side & end use energy efficiency. 
5. Promote carbon sequestration. 
6. Promote Integrated waste management. 
7. Identify Infrastructure vulnerability to climate change. 
8. Ensure that land use zoning reduces vulnerability to adverse impacts of climate change. 
9. Make rain water harvesting at site level mandatory. 
10. Take adaptive measures expecting an increase of vectors. 
11. Establish Food Security in the face of climate change threats. 
12. Develop and adopt energy saving technologies in agriculture

<div>This plan plans to build on post-conflict opportunities to boost the wellbeing of coastal communities. It focuses on shoreline management, conserving coastal habitats, control coastal water pollution, deal with special management areas, and improve regulatory mechanisms. It notably devise strategic schemes to combat floods, sea-level rise and storms. It mandates the country to combat erosion notably by adopting climate compatible technologies and designs for fisheries, tourism and other economic activities located in coastal zones. It also calls for protecting mangroves in order to protect the coast from erosion and ensure carbon storing capabilities. </div><div>The plan also aims to ensure the availability of contingency measures to mitigate impacts of climate change on coastal features, infrastructure and coastal communities and that systems for timely implementation of such contingency measures and plans are developed. It lists the following proposed actions:&nbsp; </div><ol><li>Collate data from all relevant authorities on climate change parameters such as wind patterns, rainfall, temperature, sea level rise, etc. to predict coastal impacts of sea level rise.</li><li>establish a database on climate change features relevant to coastal zone management in collaboration with relevant state organisations.</li><li>establish links with international agencies/global programmes to obtain data and information on climate change, related features and mitigatory actions.</li><li>analyse impacts of climate change and establish systems for timely adaptive and mitigatory action.</li><li>Develop an effective mechanism to collaborate with institutions dealing with the scientific and social aspects of natural hazards to minimise impacts and for efficient remedial action.</li><li>Coordinate inter-agency action required to mitigate impacts of natural hazards in the Coastal Zone and for remedial measures.</li><li>establish a mechanism through which realistic estimates of sea level rise and other climate change impacts are taken into account routinely in erosion management and development in the Coastal Zone.</li></ol>

This document sets the strategic approach to ensure that Sri Lanka’s biodiversity is conserved and used in a sustainable manner. It notably seeks to increase forest cover and shield the country's biodiversity from the adverse effects of climate change.&nbsp;

The National Adaptation Plan (NAP)&nbsp; identifies agriculture, fisheries, water, human health, coastal and marine, ecosystems and biodiversity, infrastructure and human settlements as vulnerable sectors to the adverse effects of climate change.&nbsp; The Plan provides the opportunity for all the stakeholders for developing policies, strengthening cooperation, institutional setup, resources mobilization, technology development and transfer, awareness and capacity building to increase resilience of vulnerable communities&nbsp;

This Act establishes the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority. The document sets the composition and duties of the Authority.&nbsp; The Authority is in charge of 1) identify, assess and develop renewable energy resources with a view to enhancing energy security and thereby derive economic and social benefits to the country, 2) identify, promote, facilitate, implement and manage energy efficiency improvement and energy conservation programmes for use of energy in domestic, commercial, agricultural, transport, industrial and any other relevant sector, 3) promote security, reliability and cost- effectiveness of energy delivery to the country, by policy development and analysis and related information management, and 4) ensure that adequate funds are available for the Authority to implement its objects, consistent with minimum economic cost of energy and energy security for the nation.&nbsp; The Authority must also analyse and recommend policies and prepare plans aimed at promoting and developing renewable energy resources. Art. 46 establishes the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Fund, which shall be notably financed by fees chargeable from developers for managing the carbon asset of Sri Lanka.

The Disaster Management Act's main purpose is to protect human life and the environment of Sri Lanka from the consequences of natural disasters by preparing national policies and plans, and by appointing centrally coordinated committees and institutions to give effect to such policies and plans.

The Coast Conservation Acts 57/1981 and 49/2011 set out measures to ensure a survey of the coastal zone and the preparation of a coastal zone management plan. The act also regulates development activities within the coastal zone and formulates schemes of work for coast conservation.&nbsp; The Act No.57/1981 establishes the Coast Conservation Advisory Council (hereinafter referred to as " the Council "). The functions of the Council shall be: 1) to advise the Minister on all development activities proposed in the Coastal Zone; 2) to review the Coastal Zone Management Plan prepared in accordance with the provisions of Part II of this Act; 3) to review the environmental impact assessments furnished to the Director in connection with applications for permits under section 14; 4) to inform the Director of the need for schemes of work within the Coastal Zone; 5) to advise the Minister or the Director on any other matter relating to coast conservation.&nbsp;

The Act provides for the establishment of the Water Resources Board, whose duty shall be to advise the Minister on the following matters: (a) control, conservation and utilization of water resources; (b) promotion, construction, operation and maintenance of irrigation, drainage, flood control and hydraulic power schemes; (c) promotion of afforestation; (d) control of soil erosion; (e) prevention of freshwater pollution; (f) formulation of national policies relating to the control and use of water resources.

The Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB) Cool includes 11 countries across four continents spanning seven different climates: the Mediterranean, humid subtropical, tropical, equatorial, arid, mountain, and continental. These countries suffer from climate change with temperatures reaching levels that increase heat-related health risks.  Climate change will lead to an increase in these risks including more regular and extreme heatwaves, and an increase in mean temperatures. 

The PEEB Cool project will transform the construction sector by advancing more energy-efficient building design, construction, and operation. It will prioritise sub-sectors with significant potential for climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas reduction such as large-scale new housing schemes and commercial buildings involving both the public and private sectors. Moreover, it will generate strong economic and social benefits such as the creation of green jobs. Throughout its activities, PEEB Cool will include efficient cooling solutions, sustainable construction materials, and the involvement of construction ecosystem stakeholders. 


As global temperatures increase and the demand for cooling rises, so do the emission levels of greenhouse and fluorinated gases, which have a very high global warming potential.  Reports cite that at 1.5°C of warming – a threshold that could be reached by 2030 - 2.3 billion people could be vulnerable to illness and death from heatwave events (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2019) and productivity loss could be the equivalent of 80 million full-time jobs (International Labor Organization, 2019). Therefore low-carbon and sustainable cooling solutions are essential.

The Cooling Facility will be one of the world’s first cooling-focused facilities with the aim to provide cooling solutions in nine countries.  It will focus on regulation and policy, technical assistance and financing to address and help remove barriers to the development of sustainable cooling investments.  Planned measures include financing for investments in innovative, climate-friendly cooling technologies and systems, and creating an enabling environment by strengthening institutional, policy and regulatory frameworks and building capacity of key stakeholders in technologies, business models and cooling project appraisal and implementation.


Coral reefs are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems by climate change impacts.  And drivers such as overfishing, agricultural run-off, sewage discharge and unsustainable tourism degrade the coral reefs, further decreasing their chance of survival.  Studies have shown that local management of such threats can alleviate the impacts of climate change on the coral reefs.  Thus, supporting and providing capital to businesses and companies for the sustainable use of ocean resources can considerably improve the resilience of reefs and the communities that depend on them.

As GCF’s first at-scale private sector programme in the blue economy, the Global Fund for Coral Reefs Investment Window (implemented with Pegasus Capital Advisors LP) will create a private equity fund to encourage investments in the blue economy, protecting coral reefs. Targeting 17 countries in Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean it aims to address critical financing and private investment barriers centred around the blue economy. GCF will act as anchor investor with its USD 125 million investment commitment, encouraging further public and private sector investment in the following areas:  sustainable ocean production, ecotourism, and sustainable infrastructure and waste management.   Additionally, the programme will benefit from synergies with the GFCR Grant Window, which aims to mobilise USD 125 million of concessional capital from philanthropies and other agencies in order to foster an enabling environment for seeding a pipeline of investment-ready projects.




The project seeks to strengthen the adaptive capacity of smallholder subsistence farmers to address climate-induced irrigation and drinking water shortages by improving the resilience of farm- and land-management practices, and by climate proofing the underlying ecosystems in the Knuckles/Amban Ganga highlands and lowlands.

The project covers the upper watershed and downstream areas of the Knuckles Mountain Range, which is a UNESCO heritage site that includes key biodiversity hotspots and forest reserves. The region is dominated by tea plantations and forests (natural and plantation) along with other field crops and home gardens. The water absorbed and released is used for power generation, agriculture within the mountain and downstream areas, and domestic consumption. The reservoirs in the upstream catchment are the primary source of irrigation water for agriculture and other livelihoods in the downstream command area, of which 24 per cent is covered in irrigated rice. Increases in temperature and windspeed as well as a shift in the intensity of seasonal rainfall are observed to accelerate the intensity and frequency of extreme events, such as floods, landslides and droughts that are erosive. Increased erosion and sedimentation in the upstream catchments reduce the reservoir capacity as well as soil quality, in turn, increasing the water shortage and food insecurity for the region, mostly affecting the smallholder and subsistence farmers.


Improving integrated water management within the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka in order to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers in the face of rising temperatures and extreme weather events attributable to climate change.

Persistent rural poverty afflicts Sri Lanka, with smallholder farmers who cultivate under village irrigation schemes being poorer than those who have access to major irrigation, and more vulnerable to impacts of climate change. Unseasonal rain and low water availability are driving down agricultural production, increasing food deficit and indebtedness, and contaminating surface water. Village irrigation schemes have been damaged through flooding, siltation, and the impact of extreme weather events, which also threaten safe drinking water access.

Irrigation will be improved in the Northern and Eastern Provinces through investing in improving the community irrigation water infrastructure, scaling-up decentralized drinking water systems, and strengthening early weather warnings, flood-response, and water management.

The GCF investment will build on baseline governmental investment in rural water management, so that around 770,500 people in smallholder households will benefit directly, with 1,179,800 indirect benefits of the project.

The project has an estimated lifespan of 7 years.


Sri Lanka. National Communication (NC). NC 3., National Communication from Sri Lanka in 2022

Sri Lanka First NDC (Updated submission), Nationally Determined Contribution from Sri Lanka in 2021

Sri Lanka First NDC (Archived-Updated submission), Nationally Determined Contribution from Sri Lanka in 2021

Sri Lanka First NDC (Archived), Nationally Determined Contribution from Sri Lanka in 2016

Sri Lanka. National Communication (NC). NC 2., National Communication from Sri Lanka in 2012

Specific energy and water consumption reduced in state owned or controlled buildings by 10% by 2022, 15% by 2025 and 20% by 2030

Renewable energy to make up 20% of energy generation 2023.

Wind to take up 20% of share of energy produced by renewables by 2022.

Energy consumption will be reduced by 10% on 2015 levels by 2023.

Reduce the carbon footprint of the energy sector by 5% by 2025.

Produce the total petroleum product demand of the country through our own refinery by 2025.

Reduce the petroleum fuel use in the transport sub-sector by 5% by introducing alternative strategies such as efficient modes of transport and electrification of transport by 2020.

Reduce the technical and commercial losses of the electricity transmission and distribution network from 11% to 8% by 2020.

Increase generation capacity of low cost thermal power plants fired by natural gas and biomass to 2,000 MW to reduce the generation costs and to diversify generation mix by 2020.

Generate a minimum 1.000 MW of electricity using indigenous gas resources discovered in Mannar basin by 2020.

Increase the electricity generation capacity of the system from 4.050 MW to 6.400 MW by 2025.

Increase the share of electricity generation from renewable energy sources from 50% in 2014 to 60% by 2020 and finally to meet the total demand from renewable and other indigenous energy sources by 2030.

Reduce electricity network losses to 8%  by 2020

5% reduction of carbon footprint of energy sector by 2025 against a 2014 baseline

20% increase in renewable energy percentage of national grid, from 4.8% baseline by 2020 against a 2008 baseline

60% renewables of electricity supply by 2020, then 100% from renewable and indigenous energy sources by 2030

38% electrical energy supply from hydro and renewables by 2015

Sri Lanka

Documents

Targets (17)