Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to host Sri Lanka Climate Summit 2026

• Theme to be ‘From Risk to Opportunity: Mainstreaming Climate Action into Sri Lanka’s Growth Story’

Dr. Dammika Patabendi

Shannon Cowlin

Vimlendra Sharan

Dilhan Fernando

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will host the second edition of the Sri Lanka Climate Summit on June 9, 2026, at Taj Samudra Hotel, convening policymakers, industry leaders, financiers and technical experts to focus on pathways for integrating climate action into Sri Lanka’s growth story.
Held as a biennial platform, the summit returns this year under the theme ‘From Risk to Opportunity: Mainstreaming Climate Action into Sri Lanka’s Growth Story’. 
While the inaugural edition in 2024 focused on building awareness and advocacy, the 2026 summit shifts the conversation toward implementation, technical readiness and compliance as climate-related obligations begin to directly influence access to markets, finance and investment.
Rather than treating sustainability as a standalone agenda, this year’s discussions will explore how climate considerations are becoming embedded across core areas of business and economic decision-making, from infrastructure and trade to finance, governance, digitalisation, agriculture and supply chains.
The summit will open with a high-level plenary session titled ‘Is Sri Lanka Climate Ready for Investment?’, featuring Environment Minister Dr. Dammika Patabendi, Asian Development Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka Shannon Cowlin, UN-FAO Country Representative for Sri Lanka and Maldives Vimlendra Sharan and Dilmah Tea Chairman and CEO Dilhan Fernando. 
The discussion will examine Sri Lanka’s preparedness to meet emerging climate expectations tied to investment flows and international markets, while identifying opportunities for the country to position itself competitively in a rapidly changing global economy.
The programme will feature technical and policy-focused sessions covering disaster resilience and climate preparedness, sector-specific pathways for industry transition, climate governance within corporate leadership and mechanisms to unlock climate finance for local projects and businesses. 
The speakers and panellists will include representatives from multilateral institutions, government agencies, the financial sector, export industries, sustainability leaders and international climate experts.
The event will also spotlight the growing importance of climate disclosure, ESG-linked financing, resilient infrastructure and private sector adaptation strategies as businesses respond to evolving global regulatory and investor expectations.
Sri Lanka Climate Summit 2026 is organised with the support of Platinum Sponsors - Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC and Dilmah Tea, Gold Sponsor - Hirdaramani Group and  Strategic Sponsors Nestlé Lanka, Cargills Ceylon, Colombo Stock Exchange and Colombo West International Terminal. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations joins as Knowledge Partner, while Taj Samudra serves as Hospitality Partner.
As climate rules tighten globally and investor expectations shift from commitment to compliance, climate action is now directly tied to trade, competitiveness and access to finance.