Sri Lanka to unveil a ‘robust’ green finance road map this year

In an effort to ensure Sri Lanka structures its financial activities in a manner that brings about better environmental outcomes and a more resilient future, the government yesterday announced the setting up of a committee to overlook the endeavour. 

To pave the way for the island nation to raise funds for green finance projects in 2023, Sri Lanka will publish a ‘robust’ road map. 

The road map on green finance aims to merge the ongoing processes such as green bonds, climate finance and others into a single platform, with a clear scope, measures and targets. 

Steering the effort forward will be Senior Advisor to President on Climate Change Ruwan Wijewardena, who will chair the green finance committee. 

The instruction to set up a committee came from President Ranil Wickremesinghe, a statement from the President’s Media Division said. 

A preliminary discussion was held yesterday at the Presidential Secretariat, chaired by Wijewardena. 
During the discussion, significant attention was given to issues in pushing green financing forward. 

Several officials, including Senior Additional Secretary to President Chandani Wijewardene, Additional Secretary Vernon Perera and others, were present at the discussion. 

An assessment by the International Finance Corporation shared that Sri Lanka faces an estimated 1.2 percent loss of annual GDP by 2050, if measures are not taken to address climate change. 

Green finance involves directing financial resources to address climate change challenges and to transition towards a low carbon economy.