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‘Climate literacy’ essential for Lankans to understand environmental changes

Published

4 years ago

2022/04/10

by Ifham Nizam

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says despite efforts in place, initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors must be stepped up to meet the world’s target of limiting warming to around 1.5 degrees Celsius.The IPCC released its ‘Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change’ report, assessing the measures put in place to reduce carbon emissions globally as well as their long-term impact on emissions goals.In a statement, the panel said global gas emissions should peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030, while methane should be reduced by about a third to limit global warming to around 1.5 degrees Celsius.However, it said that it is almost unavoidable that the limit will “temporarily exceed” the temperature threshold but it could return to below the target by the end of the century.The third part of the IPCC’s sixth assessment report was published on April 4. This report provide ample evidence of how climate change affects all living beings on earth.

It emphasizes that there is no fundamental challenge other than climate change which create many problems in all aspects of human well being such as food, water, health, shelter, education, employment etc. Not only humans but also other living beings are also under threat due to climate change.Hundreds of species of flora and fauna are already extinct due to issues accelerated by climate change and thousands of others are on the verge of extinction. There are three reviews under the sixth assessment report of IPCC, the world’s foremost body of climate researchers.The first published last August highlighted the scale of what human activity does to the climate system. The second titled ‘Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability’ published on February 28 looks at the causes, impacts and solutions to climate change. It gives the clearest indication to date of how a warmer world is affecting all living beings on Earth. This is the Working Group III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report published this week.Supun Lahiru Prakash, an environmental activist and one of ten 2020 – United Nations Climate Change Learn champions in the world, speaking to Sunday Island says as a tropical island nation in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is highly vulnerable to climate change and we are experiencing many adverse effects of climate change.Between 2010 and 2020, fifteen times more people died from floods, droughts and storms in very vulnerable regions including parts of Africa, South Asia and Central and South America, than in other parts of the world.More than 40% of the world’s population are “highly vulnerable” to climate catastrophes. Many of the impacts of global warming are now simply “irreversible” according to the assessment.

“We are at the last minute of the hour to act against the climate change by cutting down greenhouse gas emissions significantly while investing more on adaptations as we, humans and nature are being pushed beyond abilities to adapt.”However, this report did not get enough attention internationally or nationally. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has to some extent overshadowed it in the international media.Prakash stressed that in Sri Lanka people are suffering from lack of basic needs and they know little about climate change related factors affecting mankind. Climate literacy is most wanting here. “If Lankans are aware of these things, they will demand essential policy changes and decisions to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change,” he said.Language too was a bottleneck in climate education in the non-English speaking world. Opportunities for communicating climate related information in native languages are limited as such information is mostly available in English.

Therefore, non-English speakers lack the knowledge to relate much of what the environmental change around them to climate change.

All this drives home the need for climate literacy in this country and imparting this is a task for today, not tomorrow

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Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

News

Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

News

Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.