Business
Dialog partners with EcoMatcher to launch transparent, tech-driven tree planting in Sri Lanka
Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s #1 connectivity provider, has collaborated with EcoMatcher to launch the country’s first tech-driven tree-planting platform. This initiative enables individuals and businesses to contribute to reforestation and carbon offset efforts through a transparent and trackable solution, starting January 2025.
EcoMatcher, a pioneer in digital forestation, works with vetted foundations worldwide to ensure transparency and accountability in reforestation efforts. Through this platform, customers can pledge trees online, track their growth via regular updates, and monitor carbon absorption. Businesses can plant forests, gift trees, and offset their carbon footprint with Verra-certified carbon credits, while benefiting from tailored features like impact reporting and API integration for large-scale initiatives.
To get started, visit www.ecomatcher.com/dialog, where individuals can plant a minimum of 5 trees, and businesses can establish forests with 1,000 trees or more. Once planted, users can track their trees and monitor their impact through EcoMatcher’s platform.
“We are excited to partner with EcoMatcher in launching this groundbreaking platform,” said Supun Weerasinghe, Director/Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC. “This initiative is a significant step in our commitment to SDG 13 i.e. Climate Action, and by leveraging Dialog’s vast customer base, we hope to provide both individuals and businesses with a meaningful way to contribute directly to a greener, more sustainable future.”
Bas Fransen, CEO of EcoMatcher Limited, added, “We are proud to partner with Dialog to bring sustainable tree planting and carbon offsetting to the forefront in Sri Lanka. This partnership exemplifies our commitment to providing innovative, transparent, and engaging ways for people to make a real environmental impact. We look forward to seeing how our combined efforts can contribute to a greener, healthier future for Sri Lanka.”
By connecting over 20 million customers with this innovative platform, Dialog is enabling individuals and businesses to take meaningful action against climate change and contribute to long-term environmental sustainability. For more information, please visit www.ecomatcher.com/dialog
By Ifham Nizam
In a landmark move towards a sustainable energy future, Sri Lanka launched the Green Energy Acceleration Plan 2025-2030 at the Cinnamon Life Hotel in Colombo. The five-year initiative, spearheaded by the Ministry of Energy, aims to transform the nation into a renewable energy powerhouse through strategic investments in solar, wind and hydropower.
The event, held under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, brought together key stakeholders, including Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, Deputy Ministers Eranga Weeraratne and Janith Ruwan Kodithuwakku, Secretary to the Ministry of Energy Professor Udayanga Hemapala and CEB chairman Dr. Tilak Siyabalapitiya.
Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Dr. Amarasuriya emphasized that the initiative is not merely a policy document but a transformative roadmap for Sri Lanka’s energy sector.
“We are not just here to launch this project; we are here to transform our country into an energy powerhouse for the future. The Green Energy Acceleration Plan will expand renewable energy production and provide affordable electricity to all Sri Lankans, she stated.
The plan prioritizes reducing electricity demand, lowering costs and modernizing the energy sector through digital innovations and advanced energy storage technologies. A key aspect of the initiative is reforming energy regulations to promote efficiency and sustainability.
The government has outlined three critical focus areas for the energy sector overhaul:
Affordable & Reliable Renewable Energy – Expanding solar, wind and hydropower while minimizing carbon emissions.
Public Awareness & Digital Transformation – Educating citizens on the importance of renewable energy and modern technologies.
Advanced Energy Conversion Methods – Modernizing the sector with innovative energy solutions aligned with global advancement.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of local and international partnerships to successfully implement the plan. She urged all stakeholders—including policymakers, investors and industry experts—to collaborate in achieving energy security and economic resilience.
With the Green Energy Acceleration Plan 2025-2030, Sri Lanka takes a decisive step towards energy independence, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and positioning itself as a regional leader in clean energy innovation.
This ambitious initiative marks a turning point in Sri Lanka’s energy landscape, setting the stage for a greener, more sustainable future for all.
President Donald Trump is moving forward with 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico into the US, saying that time had run out to reach a deal.
US stock markets sank in response to the measures, which have been threatened since earlier this year and are due to go into effect on Tuesday.
An additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports is also expected to come into force, leaving all three of America’s top three trade partners facing significantly higher trade barriers than just a few weeks ago.
“No room left for Mexico or for Canada,” Trump said at the White House on Monday. “The tariffs, you know, they’re all set. They go into effect tomorrow.”
Trump threatened to impose the tariffs – which is a tax that is added to a product when it enters a country – on Canada, Mexico and China in response to what he says is the unacceptable flow of illegal drugs and undocumented migrants into the US.
He had already imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese exports to the US last month, meaning goods from the country now face a levy of at least 20%.
All three countries have said they will retaliate against the US in response to the tariffs, raising the prospect of a widening trade war.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the tariffs are “an existential threat to us” with “thousands of jobs in Canada at stake”.
She said Canadian officials have had “constructive conversations” with the Trump administration to try to avert the 25% levies but warned “we are ready with counter tariffs”.
Trump has long maintained that tariffs are a useful tool to correct trade imbalances and protect US manufacturing.
He has largely dismissed concerns that the measures risk economic damage in the US, despite the close ties, especially in North America, where businesses have enjoyed decades of free trade.
“What they’ll have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things, in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs,” he added.
The three major indexes in the US sank after Trump’s comments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 1.4%, the S&P 500 sank 1.75% and the Nasdaq fell 2.6%.
Officials from Canada and Mexico had been in Washington in recent days, trying to avoid the tariffs.
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, appeared to send a message to Trump earlier on Monday when she said at a public event in the city of Colima that “Mexico has to be respected”. “Co-operation and co-ordination, yes, subordination, never.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday, from a summit on Ukraine in London, that Canada was “not an issue” as a source of illegal fentanyl in the US.
Only 1% of fentanyl seized in the US is thought to come from Canada, according to US data.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says it has been “surging” its efforts to tackle fentanyl crossing into the US.
Canada has repeatedly said tariffs will harm both economies but added that it will defend itself if they happen.
Last month, it prepared a list of $30bn (£23.6bn) worth of American goods it said it would levy in response to US tariffs. Items on that list included everyday goods like pasta, clothing and perfume.
Canadian Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand met officials in Washington in recent days and said over the weekend there will be a response.
“We are steady at the wheel. We are prepared for any eventuality, but we will at every turn defend our country’s economy,” she told CBC News.
China’s state-run Global Times newspaper said that Beijing had prepared countermeasures, which would probably target US agricultural and food products.
President Trump has also announced a 25% charge on all steel and aluminium imports, which is meant to come into effect on 12 March.
In addition, he has threatened to impose custom “reciprocal” tariffs on individual countries, as well as 25% tariffs on the European Union.
[BBC]
The Italian embassy in Colombo celebrated Italian Design Day and The Days of Italian Fashion in the World by hosting Brenda Bellei Bizzi, the CEO of WHITE Milano, a renowned fashion tradeshow held during Milan Fashion Week. She collaborated with Colombo Fashion Week Summer 2025 in its 22nd edition presenting Sicilian designer Cettina Bucca’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection at CFW. Brenda Bellei Bizzi was appointed Ambassador for Italian Design in Sri Lanka in the 2025 edition of Italian Design Day.
Focusing on contemporary women’s wear design, WHITE became a significant platform for promoting emerging designers and sustainable fashion practices at CFW this year. Brenda’s discussions integrate well with the ethos of circularity in fashion, creating a fashion ecosystem that provides support for designers to enter the global fashion industry. Additionally, her discussions with fashion and design students at the College of Fashion & Design and fashion designers about opportunities at WHITE added momentum to their journey into the world of fashion on the global ramp.
Delighted to bring the unparalleled expertise of Brenda Bellei Bizzi to Sri Lanka, Ambassador for Italy in Sri Lanka Damiano Francovigh said, “Fashion and Italy are inextricably linked and having Brenda Bellei Bizzi with us to celebrate Italian Design Day and the launch of The Days of Italian Fashion in the World in Sri Lanka augments that premise. As the ambassador for Sri Lanka in the 2025 edition of the Italian Design Day, Brenda Bellei Bizzi’s collaboration with Colombo Fashion Week allowed us to showcase Italian fashion in this beautiful country.”
Prevailing showery condition over the island is expected to be reduced from today (04).
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