Sri Lankan environmental lawyer says private sector should push for ‘war footing’ on country’s climate change issues
An environmental law expert in Sri Lanka has reportedly said the country’s private sector should push for the government to put the country on climate change ‘war footing’ to better cope with floods, droughts and other natural disasters that are becoming more frequent.
“We cannot stop climate change but can prepare for and mitigate their impacts,” Attorney-at-Law Lalanath de Silva has been quoted in the local media as telling a forum held by the Sri Lanka Business and Biodiversity Platform, known as Biodiversity Sri Lanka.
He has explained that gravity of the impact of climate change was still not appreciated by ordinary people, the corporate sector and government.
“We need the private sector to influence the government and put climate change on a war footing because it is in your best financial and economic interest to do so.”
He has further noted that climate change impacts will destroy and damage some industrial establishments while agricultural businesses will also suffer heavy damage through floods and drought.
According to de Silva, Sri Lanka’s green house gas emissions are miniscule compared with the industrialized West and countries like China and India.
A private sector-led platform to encourage increased corporate involvement in biodiversity and environmental conservation would therefore be very beneficial, he has added.
“Those who created the problem are in the north – Europe, United States, Japan and India and China. But we should have no doubt we will be impacted and be victims of climate change.”
OSL take:
The statement by the environmental lawyer is indicative of the magnitude of the impact of climate change in Sri Lanka. This is an ideal investment opportunity for foreign entities engaged in promoting the protection of bio diversity while helping the global development agenda. Such entities could explore the potential in Sri Lanka for them to introduce their methodologies to minimize the impact of floods and droughts in the country.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/26092018/Z_5 |