Opinion
Climate Change for Us
Animal and climate justice groups pointed out that almost 60 per cent of the menu at the Conference was made up of high-carbon, meat and dairy products.
By DEVENDRA SAKSENA
The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, concluded on 13 November 2021. The Conference was attended by 197 countries, represented by 120 Presidents/Prime Ministers. More than 40,000 private participants, 14,000 observers and about 4,000 media representatives, also attended the conference. All facets of climate change, the science, the solutions, the finances were discussed threadbare. After two weeks of pontification, most countries agreed to achieve climate control targets by 2050, while India proposed to do so by 2070.
Consensus emerged to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels, preferably, to limit the increase to 1.5°C. Significantly, no timelines were prescribed. On the downside, participants noted that limiting global warming to 1.5°C required rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, but according to current predictions, aggregate greenhouse gas emission levels were projected to be 13.7 per cent above the 2010 level in 2030.
Also, not a single penny of the US$100 billion contribution from developed countries, required to help poorer countries make a transition to clean energy and develop climate resilient infrastructure, has materialised. In conclusion, all participants were long on rhetoric but short on commitment. Secondly, everyone looked to set goals far in the future when none of the attendees could be held responsible for their misleading promises. Thirdly, richer countries were unwilling to commit funds for climate control.
Fourthly, COP26 focussed on reducing dependence on fossil fuels but the main sponsors of the Conference, like that of the last Conference, were fossil fuel and finance companies! Climate activists expressed concern about the inclusion of large delegations of industries, particularly big polluting companies, and financial organizations in the conference. Animal and climate justice groups pointed out that almost 60 per cent of the menu at the Conference was made up of high-carbon, meat and dairy products.
Also, business leaders like Jeff Bezos, and politicians like President Biden, Prince Charles, PM Boris Johnson, and Chancellor Angela Merkel travelled to Glasgow in private jets, belying their promise of reducing carbon emissions. Moreover, no delegate saw climate change from the viewpoint of an affected party; Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA), a term describing groups and territories disproportionately affected by climate change, went almost unrepresented at COP26. What happened outside the conference hall was equally noteworthy.
Protests were organised by climate-change activists who wanted more immediate and farreaching action on environmental preservation. Almost 100,000 people joined in a protest march in Glasgow. According to the Times, around 2 million people around the world protested on 6 November 2021, the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice. Leaders of countries with the worst pollution records, Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Jair Bolsonaro, of Amazon de-forestation infamy, skipped the conference.
Queen Elizabeth II, too, was sceptical; in a private conversation she said: “It’s really irritating when they talk, but they don’t do.” Leaked documents accessed by the BBC, prior to COP26, revealed massive lobbying to influence the outcome of COP26: wealthy nations like Switzerland and Australia questioned payments to poorer states to enable them to adopt greener technologies. Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia were among countries that asked the UN to moderate its stance on the need to move away from fossil fuels.
Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), a group of 22 countries, including major emitters China, India and Saudi Arabia, asked for the commitment to climate mitigation to be entirely removed from the draft text. Thus, the prognosis is not very encouraging. Climate Action Tracker, a research group monitoring government action for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, concluded that with current policies, global temperature may rise by 2.7°C by the end of the century.
The temperature rise will be limited to 2.4°C, if the pledges for 2030 are implemented, and by 2.1°C if the long-term targets are also implemented. Global warming would be limited to 1.8°C, only if all targets were implemented in their entirety. Probably, as a warning signal, this year had more than its share of extreme weather events. Unusually early heat waves, that brought terrifying wildfires and powerful floods in their wake, were noticed globally. India, Pakistan, China, Europe, Australia, North and South America, all suffered badly.
Heat waves hit the Indian sub-continent in March 2022, right after winter receded. There was no spring season; temperatures crossed 45°C at many places in India, with Nawabshah in Pakistan recording a high of 49.5°C. Breaking all records, Lytton in British Columbia, Canada recorded a temperature of 49.6°C. Similar temperatures were recorded in Mid-Western and South-Eastern USA. Many places in Britain and France recorded temperatures exceeding 40°C.
After early floods, China is facing an unprecedented heatwave and drought, with temperatures at some places exceeding 50°C. Contrarily, after the early heatwave, Pakistan experienced prolonged, torrential rains, described as ‘monsoon on steroids’ by the UN Secretary-General, and the worst floods in its history. The Southern Hemisphere experienced similar heatwaves with Australia, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and certain parts of Brazil, recording extreme temperatures in January 2022. Freak hailstorms have battered Germany and Mexico City, and a severe hurricane season has been forecast for the US. Meteorologists see these events as part of a troubling trend, with one problematic weather condition influencing another, probably as an impact of climate change. The climate apocalypse predicted after half a century, seems to have hastened its arrival.
COP27 is scheduled for November 2022, but there is little hope that the outcome of COP27 would be much different from that of COP26, about which climate activist Greta Thunberg had said: “Nothing has changed from previous years really. The leaders will say ‘we’ll do this and we’ll do this, and we will put our forces together and achieve this’, and then they will do nothing. Maybe some symbolic things and creative accounting and things that don’t really have a big impact.
We can have as many COPs as we want, but nothing real will come out of it.” There are two alternatives before India: either go with the mainstream and make hollow promises with no intention of fulfilling them or try and repair the climate over our own country. Insulation from the Asian landmass, by oceans in the south and the Himalayas in the north, protects us ~ though not totally ~ from depredations of our neighbours. An honest effort to limit pollution and overexploitation of natural resources ~ the major causes of climate change ~ at the national level could yield rich dividends, sooner rather than later.
Fortunately for us, environment protection laws are in place, and it should only be a question of proper implementation. But, unfortunately, the wind is blowing in the opposite direction. A sham progress vs. environment debate has been created; the public is encouraged to put environmental concerns on the backburner. The current, unstated Government policy is of not discouraging environmental transgressions, so much so that if an environmental rule or law stands in the way of Ease of Doing Business, the law is often changed.
Examples are numerous: Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; Wildlife Protection Act, 1972; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Indian Forest Act, 1927, were amended, as also the Environment Impact Notification and the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification. Moreover, aping the West, a culture of consumerism that encourages mindless exploitation of natural resources is being promoted. Far corners of the country are being opened up by building highways, even in the hills, which have triggered landslides and exposed simple folk to extraneous influences.
Then, plans are afoot to introduce alien commercial plant species in the virgin jungles of the Andamans and the North-East. Stephen Hawking, the eminent physicist and author had warned: “One can see from space how the human race has changed the Earth. Nearly all of the available land has been cleared of forest and is now used for agriculture or urban development. The polar ice caps are shrinking and the desert areas are increasing. At night, the Earth is no longer dark, but large areas are lit up.
All of this is evidence that human exploitation of the planet is reaching a critical limit. But human demands and expectations are ever-increasing. We cannot continue to pollute the atmosphere, poison the ocean and exhaust the land. There isn’t any more available.” We can only hope that our leaders wake up in time to save the earth from a climate catastrophe.
(The Statesman/ANN)
Only America could re-elect an extremist like Trump.
There are planned protests across the US today against President Donald Trump and his adviser billionaire Elon Musk.
More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations have been planned by more than 150 groups – including civil rights organisations, labour unions, veterans, fair-election activists and LGBT+ advocates.
This includes a planned protest at the National Mall in Washington as well as locations in all 50 states.
They are in opposition to Trump’s actions: slashing the federal government, his handling of the economy and other issues.
Musk has played a key role in Trump’s second administration, leading efforts to downsize the federal government as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.
Organisers hope these demonstrations will be the largest since Trump came to office.
Speaking of Musk, let’s see how Trump’s second term has impacted America’s richest men …?
Countries across the globe are planning their response, or lack thereof, to Donald Trump’s tariffs.
China responded to Trump’s 34% tariff with its own levy of the same percentage on US imports.
According to state news agency Xinhua, China has accused the US of using tariffs “as a weapon” to suppress Beijing’s economy.
The country’s foreign ministry added that the US should “stop undermining the legitimate development rights of the Chinese people”.
It also warned there were no winners from and no way out for protectionism.
China also claimed that the US tariffs violated World Trade Organization rules – rules it itself has broken a number of times.
Professor Wang Wen, trade expert at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, spoke from Beijing to Kamali Melbourne. He outlined why he believed the tariffs would eventually benefit China, and why Beijing would “never yield” to the US president.
“The basic strategy of China’s tariff policy against Trump is to count on reciprocal rules and defend China’s national interest and dignity. China will never yield to Trump on the issue of tariff war,” he said.
However, Xi Jinping is no democratic leader either, given to expansionism by hook or crook.
China’s booming economy has opened up many opportunities to achieve its sinister objectives – massive investments which weaker economies fall into and become easy prey.
Sri Lanka is no exception. Caught in the middle are the smaller nations who are confused and worried how best to stay alive.
Sunil Dharmabandhu
Wales, UK
In the despicable absence of an urgent practical response on the part of the JVP-Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led NPP government to the devastating 28th March earthquake in Myanmar, ex-president Ranil Wickremesinghe has made a very timely and sensible proposal regarding how to assist our disaster stricken fellow humans in that country. ex-president Wickremesinghe! Thank you very much for saving, at least to some extent, Sri Lanka’s still unsullied reputation as a sovereign state populated by a most humane and hospitable people. You have again demonstrated your remarkable ability to emerge as an able state level troubleshooter at critical moments, this time though, just by being a mentor. It is a pity that you don’t think of adopting a more universally acceptable, less anglophile version of principled politics that will endear you to the general electorate and induce the true patriots of the country to elect you to the hot seat, where you will have the chance to show your true colours!
The ordinary people of Myanmar (formerly called Burma) are remarkably humble, polite and kind-hearted just like our fellow ordinary Sri Lankans. There’s a natural cultural affinity between us two peoples because we have been sharing the same Theravada Buddhist religious culture for many centuries, especially from the 4th century CE, when Buddhism started making gradual inroads into the Irrawaddy Valley through trade with India. Whereas Buddhism almost completely disappeared from India, it flourished in Sri Lanka and Burma. Nearly 88% of the 55 million present Myanmar population profess Buddhism, which compares to 72% of the 22 million population in Sri Lanka. Wickremesinghe has been mindful enough to take a glance at the historicity of close Myanmar-Sri Lanka relations. And he didn’t mince his words while giving some details.
At the beginning of his statement in this connection (which I listened to in a video today, April 1, 2025), Ranil Wickremesinghe said that our government has expressed its sorrow (but little else, as could be understood in the context). Countries near and far from Myanmar including even partly affected Thailand, and India, China, and distant Australia have already provided emergency assistance. Referring to the special connection we have with Myanmar as a fellow Theravada Buddhist country, he said that both the Amarapura and Ramanna nikayas brought the vital higher ordination ritual from there. We must help Myanmar especially because of this historic relationship.
When an earthquake struck Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha, in 2015, we sent an army team to assist. On that occasion, Sri Lanka was the second country to provide relief, India being the first, with China becoming the third country to come to Nepal’s help. Today, India, Thailand, Malaysia, China and Australia have dispatched aid by now. Last year Sri Lanka gave 1 million US Dollars for Gazan refugees. We need to take a (meaningful) step now.
Wickremesinghe proposed that the army medical corps be sent to Myanmar immediately to set up a temporary hospital there. The necessary drugs and other materials may be collected from Buddhist and non-Buddhist donors in Colombo and other areas.
Emphasising the ancient friendly relationship between Sri Lanka and Myanmar, Wickremesinghe mentioned that King Alaung Sithu I (of the Pagan Dynasty, 1090-1167 CE) sent help to (Prince Keerthi who later became) King Vijayabahu the Great (1055-1110 CE) to defeat and drive away from the island the occupying Cholas after a 17 year long military campaign. The grateful Lankan monarch Vijayabahu, during his reign, offered the Thihoshin Pagoda (name meaning ‘Lord of Lanka’ pagoda, according to Wikipedia) and a golden Buddha image to the Myanmar king. (This pagoda is situated in Pakokku in the Magway region, which is one of the six regions affected by the recent earthquake. I am unable to say whether it remains undamaged. Though the monument was initiated during Vijayabahu’s lifetime, the construction was completed during the reign of King Alaung Sithu I {Wikipedia}).
Wickremesinghe, in his statement, added that it was after this that a strong connection between Sri Lanka and Myanmar started. In some Buddhist temples in Myanmar there are paintings by ancient Lankan painters, illustrating Jataka stories (Stories relating to different births of Buddha). Among these, Wickremesinghe mentioned, there is a painting depicting the duel between (the occupying Chola king of Anuradhapura) Elara and (his young native challenger from Ruhuna prince) Dutugemunu. (Although Wickremesinghe did not talk about it, a fact well known is that there is a copy of our Mahavamsa in Myanmar. In reporting the ex-president’s speech, I have added my own information and information from other sources. I have put this within parentheses)
Let’s hope President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is wise enough to derive some benefit from his predecessor’s mentoring in the name of our beloved Motherland.
Rohana R. Wasala
Authors: Directors of Solar Village SDG CIC
www.solarvilllagesdg.org
I.M. Dharmadasa (Emeritus Professor), Nilmini Roelens (Solicitor) and Saroj Pathirana (Journalist)
The purpose of this article is to inform the Cabinet discussion on Solar Power proposed by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB)
Net metering and the Prosumer
The CEB has put forward a motion to the Sri Lankan Cabinet which proposes to reduce the unit price payable under the various net metering schemes to the “prosumer” (the owner of a solar panel system).
A prosumer is a blend of producer and consumer, referring to individuals who both create and consume. This is based on the notion that most producers of electricity through self-owned solar panels generate more than double their own needs as consumers. It thus enables the prosumer to connect to the national grid and receive money on a pay back scheme from the CEB for the excess electricity they produce.
What is this debate about?
Currently there are four schemes.
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka explains the various schemes involving roof -top solar solutions thus under a heading published in October 2023 – Rooftop Solar PV Connection Schemes. The two most noteworthy schemes are the Net plus and the Net plus plus schemes.
https://www.pucsl.gov.lk/rooftop-solar-pv-connection-schemes/
Through the NET Plus Plus Scheme CEB regards the prosumer as a mini power plant holder which maximises roof top generation well beyond the prosumer’s own needs making maximum use of extra roof space. This would work well for schools and companies with large buildings. CEB used to pay Rs. 37 per unit to the prosumer for up to 500kW. This unit price was available between 26 October 2022 to 1 July 2024. However, as of 1 July 2024 the unit price was reduced to Rs. 27.
We understand the new CEB proposal to the cabinet is to scrap this scheme altogether.
In relation to the Net Plus scheme which is the more accessible and popular scheme for ordinary householders the current CEB proposal is to reduce the unit price even further to Rs. 19 for solar power systems generating less than 20 kW, whilst for those generating between 20 – 100 kW the unit pay back will be Rs.17 and those generating between 100 – 500 kW will receive Rs.15 per unit.
The installation costs of a 5-kW solar panel is now around Rs 1.0 million. The cost of solar panels has in fact come down over the years and the units are recyclable. The lifespan of a solar unit is expected to be in the region of 22 to 25 years. There are now over 300 active solar companies in Sri Lanka. This is a rapidly growing sector with the prospect of generating employment for tens of thousands of young Sri Lankans for many years to come as technicians, administrators and entrepreneurs. The potential advantages for the economy are extensive Sri Lanka’s growth of the renewable energy sector using freely available sunshine available virtually all year-round given the geographical proximity to the equator
It is not just about reducing the electricity bills of the prosumer. This green energy solution would also mean we avoid the heavy annual cost of the import of fossil fuels into Sri Lanka which very seriously affects its balance of payments each year. The unwarranted need for environmentally damaging energy sources like coal, diesel and nuclear (with its inherent dangers and enormous costs), etc., will lead to a meaningless downward spiral of more debt, enhanced climate risk and pollution.
The intermittency argument
The argument of intermittency of renewables is a misguided premise. Some may argue that seasonal variations of renewables such as solar or hydro power may make them unreliable. This can very easily be remedied by investment in a smart grid. This can be done by upgrading the existing transformers and grid lines. A policy decision would be required at cabinet level to advise the CEB to reinvest any profits for this purpose.
Green Hydrogen is the future
Solar generated power can be harnessed to invest in Green Hydrogen solutions which could mean that rather being an importer of fossil fuels, that the rest of the world is turning away from, Sri Lanka becomes an exporter of green hydrogen to countries in the northern hemisphere where sunshine is scarcer.
Picture what it could do to the Sri Lankan economy if, rather than being dependent on imports of polluting and expensive fuel which can exacerbate the climate crisis, we transform our island into an eco-tourist paradise and become an exporter of clean green hydrogen.
Green hydrogen is created by splitting water molecules into its components of Hydrogen and Oxygen. The hydrogen gas can be compressed and stored for export. The minimum voltage required for splitting the water molecule is about 1.50 Volts DC and scaling up and commercialisation is happening throughout the world currently.
Rebranding Sri Lanka as a renewable energy island
To limit imports of fossil fuels for automobiles, a policy decision at governmental level could provide concessions for electric cars for solar roof owners and encourage the use of solar powered charging stations. The annual cost of imports of petrol and diesel would reduce overtime as Sri Lanka encourages clean and green electric cars.
Whilst the rest of the world is turning to renewable energy with alacrity, Sri Lanka ought not turn to fossil fuel imports in breach of its commitments to the international community.
In 2015 Sri Lanka signed up to the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Ahead of the Paris Summit Sri Lanka set out its climate action plan which the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) stated “Countries have agreed that there will be no back-tracking in these national climate plans, meaning that the level of ambition to reduce emissions will increase over time.”
(https://unfccc.int/news/sri-lanka-submits-its-climate-action-plan-ahead-of-2015-paris-agreement)
Sri Lanka has a real opportunity to rebrand itself as a renewable energy island. This means moving towards the commitments made at UNFCC – COP25, Sri Lanka Country Statement in Madrid in December 2019:
“Sri Lanka recognises the importance of the role of COP and highlights the need to take effective and definitive steps for finalising the follow up actions of the Paris Agreement.
The rise of the global mean temperature and the resulting changes have created adverse impacts on key sectors of Sri Lanka, such as agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, marine and fisheries, tourism and energy (hydro power) sectors, leading to disastrous effects on its people, ecosystems and economy. According to official statistics from 2008 to 2018, droughts, floods and landslides have affected over 15 million people, and losses and damages resulting from these calamities have been borne by Sri Lanka’s national budget… Sri Lanka is committed to inclusive and participatory climate actions to ensure that affirmative actions are taken to address the vulnerabilities of climate change.“https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/SRILANKA_cop25cmp15cma2_HLS_EN.pdf
Why is reduction of the unit price a very regressive, harmful measure?
The reduction will discourage the use of clean renewable energy in favour of higher imports and a move towards dangerous and expensive sources of energy.
The consequences of a reduction of unit price will thus be far reaching beyond the loss to the prosumer.
Lithium battery storage options mean that even when the sun stops shining at night or in the wet season the solar panel produced energy can continue to be used. It is very likely that current solar companies will need to diversify to survive and move towards lithium battery storage solutions and inverters so that year long, 24-hour access to energy is available without recourse to the national grid for their customers. As individuals and institutions go off grid CEB’s income will dwindle in the long run as the private sector takes over.
Recommendations to the cabinet
We make the following recommendations to the Government of Sri Lanka:
(i) At present we have a fragile grid, and the CEB should strenuously endeavour to minimise energy leakages and improve the grid by replacing weak transformers and grid lines. Such continuous improvements will enable us to move towards a “Smart Grid” enabling absorption of large amounts of intermittent renewable energies like wind and solar.
(ii) At present we have ~1500 MW of renewables installed, comparable to hydroelectricity. When solar power is plentiful during the daytime, hydro power can be reduced simply by controlling the water flow without any technical difficulties. This is one way of assuring energy storage while balancing the grid energy.
(iii) Another solution for this is pumped-water storage plants. It is important to follow through with such measures which have now been under discussion for some time.
(iv) The future energy carrier is green hydrogen (GH) produced by electrolysing water using both wind and solar. A global Green Hydrogen revolution is taking place, and GH can be used to run vehicles using fuel cell technology. Trains and buses are being run with GH technology in Europe. GH can also be converted into ammonia and methanol to produce fertilizer and be applied for other industrial uses. Sri Lanka must not be left behind.
(v) GH can be stored and burned whenever energy is needed, especially during nighttime. Only water vapour is produced during the burning of hydrogen without any air pollution. Sri Lanka already has the Sobhadanavi LNG plant which is almost ready to use. Since we must import LNG to run this power plant, we should be able to reduce the LNG import bill by half by mixing the natural gas (methane) with the locally produced GH. See here:
(vi) Local solar energy companies should install high quality solar energy systems and provide “after sale services” in accordance with their guarantees.
(vii) PV companies should also be encouraged to collaborate with local electronics departments to manufacture accessories like inverters and other components needed for these systems, creating new jobs, and reducing the total cost of the systems.
(viii) In addition to grid tied solar roofs, the PV companies should also market hot water systems and water pumping systems. As a country reliant mainly on agriculture, solar water pumping and drip irrigation systems, especially in the dry zone, provide a huge potential for increasing food production.
(ix) Battery capacities are improving, and costs are coming down. This can be encouraged pending replacing grid infrastructure.
(x) It is important to increase public awareness through government funded campaigns. The public should recognise the dangers of using imported and expensive fossil fuel and the importance of using renewables.
(xi) The public should also recognise the advantages of having a clean environment, health benefits and enhanced living conditions.
(xii) A community development project called “Solar Village” to empower needy communities, accelerate their sustainable development, reduce poverty and take climate action has been developed over the past two decades. Seven solar villages have been established and funding for three more solar villages have been obtained.
Solar Village SDG, a UK based community interest company has been established to encourage the use of renewables and to pilot programmes which will support sustainable development goals. This includes providing access to a quality education for all via smart rooms which will be set up alongside solar villages in rural schools. Such initiatives could be encouraged and supported.
-
Business22 hours agoColombo Coffee wins coveted management awards
-
Features2 days agoStarlink in the Global South
-
Business3 days agoDaraz Sri Lanka ushers in the New Year with 4.4 Avurudu Wasi Pro Max – Sri Lanka’s biggest online Avurudu sale
-
Business4 days agoStrengthening SDG integration into provincial planning and development process
-
Business3 days agoNew SL Sovereign Bonds win foreign investor confidence
-
Sports5 days agoTo play or not to play is Richmond’s decision
-
Features2 days agoModi’s Sri Lanka Sojourn
-
Sports4 days agoNew Zealand under 85kg rugby team set for historic tour of Sri Lanka