Message from the Hon. Minister of Environment

16 September 2021 12:05 am Views - 88

Since adopting the Vienna Convention in 1985 and its Montreal Protocol, the Government of Sri Lanka has been celebrating World Ozone Day on September 16 each year. As the Minister of Environment, I consider this as a privilege to add my greetings to the World Ozone Day Celebrations under theme of “Montreal Protocol – Keeping Us, Our Food and Vaccines Cool”.

Sri Lanka's Ozone Depleting Substances Control Program is in line with His Excellency President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa's "Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour", the National Development Framework, and "Sustainable Development Goals".

The Montreal Protocol was established on 16 September 1987 with the unanimous agreement of global heads of states, to protect the ozone layer, which threatens the survival of humankind as well as all living things. Sri Lanka has been an active member of the Montreal Protocol since its effectiveness (1989) and has been instrumental in protecting the ozone layer. Being the National Focal Point of the Montreal Protocol, the Ministry of Environment is urged to implement its policies in our country. It is with gratitude and appreciation that we mention that the Ozone Secretariat, the Multilateral Fund, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) extend their fullest cooperation to Sri Lanka, to achieve a highly successful journey.

It is gratifying to note that the Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) Phase out Management Program currently being implemented in Sri Lanka is successfully reaching its targets. Being the Chair of the ‘Presidential Task Force on Creating a Green Sri Lanka with Sustainable Solutions to Climate Change’, I am pleased with all the efforts being made by the National Ozone Unit of the Ministry to bring various eco-friendly benefits to the society by implementing various projects. Sri Lanka, in connection with the international community, is taking steps to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. Necessary steps are also being made to implement a program from 2024 to 2045 to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) which contribute to the global warming.

I would like to respectfully recall the cooperation extended to us by the Department of Import and Export Control, the Sri Lanka Customs, the industrial training and education institutions, the Board of Investment and the relevant industry, even in the challenging time of COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally, I would like to recall a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, " Keep the environment you have been gifted to, at least for the sake of the next generation."

Mahinda Amaraweera M.P.

Minister of Environment