SL should adopt proactive measures

Many Sri Lankan corporates will perish in the next five to 10 years if they do not take the impact of climate change seriously and adopt proactive measures with substantial investments in building eco-friendly businesses, a senior official of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group said on the sidelines of the launch of the Road Map for Sustainable Finance for Sri Lanka by the Central Bank (CB) last week.

Sri Lanka has taken many a beating in recent years from extreme weather that devastated large swaths of commercial crops and other livelihood by flash floods and severe drought.

A study shows that a 4.5 degree Celsius increase in global temperatures could cut global gross domestic product by US$ 72 trillion.

Maritime shipping, which accounts for around 80% of global trade by volume, could experience negative consequences, for instance from more frequent port closures due to extreme events.

IFC Country Officer Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Victor Antonypillai said Sri Lanka too bears witness. “Our economy has taken a beating many a time owing to extreme floods or prolonged drought. Climate-smart approaches to business is not an option anymore.

It is estimated that Sri Lanka stands to lose 1.2 percent of annual GDP by 2050 unless we address these issues.”

He said increasing pressure on the environment, the need to be conscious of social stakeholders and sharper scrutiny of corporate governance present businesses greater challenges in the modern world.