ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has unveiled a national strategy which will help the country tap climate financing from official donors and also the private sector to help support over 10 billion dollars for adaptation strategies, officials said.
The National Climate Finance Strategy of Sri Lanka 2025 – 2030, was devised by the External Resources Department of the Finance Ministry with the support of the United Nations and United Kingdom.
“Sri Lanka in particular, given our dependency and exposure to the tourism industry, agricultural industry, marine economy that we have, that we are planning to develop further, the stakes are high unless we act now,” Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma said.
“That is why I am pleased to announce the government is committed in that direction to ensure we prepare ourselves well, we coordinate with the partners who have the expertise in this area and invite investors to take part in this journey along with us.”
Sri Lanka’s Nationally Determined Contributions for 2021 to 2030 was estimated at 10.85 billion US dollars. The needs are currently being revised.
At the COP 28, pledges were made to provide developing countries 300 billion US dollars a year by 2035, Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, UNDP Sri Lanka said. But the funds cannot be tapped without a climate financing strategy.
“It offers a clear, structured framework for mobilising and aligning both domestic and international resources with national climate goals,” Kubota said.
In addition to official development assistance, financing options included public private partnerships, debt for environment swaps, environment social governance bonds Visakha Amarasekere according Additional Director General, Department of External Resources said.
“As a government with limited resources at disposal, we won’t be able to come back alone and channel much needed finances from the other areas which are in equal demand into this particular area,”
“This is why it is important to have a plan to attract other partners for funding, to invite the private sector to take part in this journey for financing, climate related financing activities.”
Sri Lanka had challenges and opportunities that it had to work out and deploy climate financing, United Kingdom High Commissioner for Sri Lanka Andrew Patrick said.
“But without a climate finance strategy of this kind, it is much harder for the government to access those funds,” he said.
Sri Lanka had untapped potential in offshore wind energy, but there were also threats to biodiversity and agriculture, High Commissioner Patrick said. In Jaffna, groundwater is becoming salty.
“There’s an issue of whether people can continue using it” he said. There’s been a survey that we’ve been supporting there. (Colombo/Oct24/2025)
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