Paving the Road Ahead for Climate Action in Sri Lanka

The country experiences on average US$ 313 million in annual disaster losses

Marking the hottest month ever recorded in human history, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations stated, “Climate change is here; It is terrifying and it is just the beginning. The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived. And the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable. Leaders must lead. No more hesitancy. No more excuses. No more waiting for others to move first. There is simply no more time for that”. 
It is not news that the triply planetary crisis — climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss — is ravaging the globe. This crisis affects some countries more than others, leaving disproportionate and devastating impacts in its wake. Sri Lanka, among many other neighbouring tropical nations, is one such country. 
The tropics host an estimated 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and most of its marine diversity. A significant proportion of this diversity is already under threat. Recent research has found that the tropics are the global climate modulator. Yet, the tropics continue to suffer the most from the climate change impacts, resultant disasters, and resource loss. Modeling and current realities suggest that the effects of increased greenhouse gas emissions will have a much larger impact on tropical communities, habitats and biota, despite the region contributing less than 20% of the global CO2 emissions. 
A majority of the population in the tropics — which are home to most of the world’s poorest — live in drastic socio-economic disparities. Since 2013, debt service has increased across the tropics, a warning sign of future debt challenges for them, which is now a reality Sri Lanka is experiencing. Resource extraction and processing cause over 90% of global biodiversity loss and more than half of the effects of global climate change. High-income countries use over 10 times more resources per capita than low-income countries. This growing use of natural resources, including land, water and materials such as biomass, fossil fuels, metals and non-metallic minerals, most of which originate in the tropics and are fed into the global economy, is the main cause of the triple planetary crisis. 
Given these drastic imbalances in terms of resource input and output and the significant impacts that the region, its environment and its people bear, the tropics are significantly resource-constrained. 
Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Dr. Anil Jasinghe notes, “Sri Lanka is an ideal illustration of the issues that plague the tropics. It is a biodiversity hotspot; however, a significant proportion of our endemic species are diminishing. We are in a conservation crisis, yet conserving these species will have an enormous impact on securing global biodiversity. 
Sri Lanka is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. The country experiences on average US$ 313 million in annual disaster losses. Yet, Sri Lanka has been lauded as a success story for achieving high levels of human development while pursuing low-carbon growth.” 
He went on to note, “The Climate Prosperity Plan submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the country’s long-term low greenhouse gas emission strategy (low GHG emission strategy) requires a total of US$ 26 billion, with US$ 6.5 billion required per year if we are to successfully mitigate and adapt to climate change. 
“Sri Lanka is only just getting its bearings following the worst economic crisis the country has ever seen. It is evident that Sri Lanka, and many other countries in the tropics with identical cases, require concerted support from the global community. The tropics are a catalytic accelerator of solutions to the triple planetary crisis; investments in the tropical belt are investments towards global progress on this front.” 
Sri Lanka’s Tropical Belt Climate Ambition Plan speaks to these necessities and lays down a roadmap for climate action in Sri Lanka. Prof. Buddhi Marambe, Professor in Crop Science at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, and former Chairman and member of the National Experts Committee on Climate Change Adaptation highlights that “We need a paradigm shift moving beyond geo-political differences and boundaries as we share one planet and one home. 
Therefore, investing in the tropical belt could be a unique and effective way to combat the triple planetary crisis. Higher investments in renewable energy, nature-based solutions and pollution control in the tropical belt can lead to significant, transformative changes across the world. This would no doubt hasten our journey towards achieving net zero goals faster. Nature-based solutions could contribute substantially to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The natural capital of the tropics could be an investment for the Global North. Protecting and ensuring the health of natural ecosystems are also essential for conserving biodiversity, providing clean air and water, safeguarding food security, and sustaining livelihoods.” 
The Tropical Belt Climate Ambition Plan and the proposed debt relief for low-income economies within the belt are poised to make a substantial contribution in advancing the Secretary General’s Acceleration Agenda. Speaking on the topic, Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, UNDP Sri Lanka observed that “Only nature-based human development, with a systematic, inclusive, and rights-based approach to nature-based solutions can leverage the potential for the large-scale transformative change needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Placing nature at the heart of development through the UNDP’s Nature Pledge, UNDP Sri Lanka is committed to support Sri Lanka to enable a Global Value Shift, an Economic and Financial Shift, and a Policy and Practice Shift to deliver change on the ground.” 
As Sri Lanka prepares for COP28, the Tropical Belt Climate Ambition Plan is not just a global call to action, but also a demonstration that tangible and ambitious action to credibly cut emissions and deliver climate justice is possible and practical. 
“It is a fact that the Triple Planetary Crisis is a direct product of unsustainable industrial development over several centuries. It is evident that global efforts to reverse the path towards a precipice are hindered by geo-politics. This has also made it clear that if emissions increase in the Tropical Belt, it could impact the whole world. Therefore, the countries of the Tropical Belt expect at COP 28 that the Global North consider investing in the Tropical Belt, disregarding geo-political affiliations. We hope that their support will help mitigate the triple planetary crisis, while keeping to their pledges in limiting the global temperature rise to well below 1.5 degrees by the end of the 21st century,” re-emphasized Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Dr. Anil Jasinghe.   UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.