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Lanka can’t afford fossil fuels but can’t afford to get off them either

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/31

(climatechangenews)

Sri Lanka is in turmoil, with fuel and food shortages provoking citizens to storm the presidential palace and send Gotobaya Rajapaksa packing.Reliance on fossil fuel imports is a big factor in the economic crisis. Fuel prices spiking while tourism stayed in the doldrums led to the country running out of foreign currency, not helped by chronic fiscal mismanagement.

That same economic crisis is now making it harder than ever for Sri Lanka to develop a renewable industry, energy experts and business owners say.On 31 March, protesters marched on president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s private residence. Things escalated until on 9 July, they stormed the presidential palace, prompting Rajapaksa to resign and flee to Singapore. He appointed an ally, Ranil Wickremesinghe, as his successor and this week a Sri Lankan official said Rajapaksa himself would return to the country, dampening hopes of substantive political change.

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis stems from consistently importing more than it exports. As the country pays in foreign currency (largely US dollars) for imports and sells in foreign currency for exports, its central bank’s foreign currency reserves have been depleting.The government didn’t have enough Sri Lankan rupees to pay for imports so prices of products, including essentials like food and fuel, shot up.

Between 1990 and 2000, Sri Lanka’s net energy imports as a percentage of total energy use doubled from 20% to 40% and has stayed around the same ever since. In 2021, the country spent $3.7bn on imports of oil and coal. Sri Lanka has no significant fossil fuel reserves. It does, according to the World Bank, have good potential for solar and wind power. Yet it has failed to develop either technology. It gets around a third of its electricity from imported oil, a third from imported coal and a third from domestic hydropower.

Lankan journalist Rathindra Kuruwita said this failure to develop renewables was largely the fault of the island’s state-owned monopoly utility provider, the Ceylon Electricity Board.

“Most of the engineers are in cahoots with the power plant mafia,” he said. This “mafia” is not an organised crime mob, but a network of people with a vested interest in fossil fuels: power plant operators, diesel distributors and coal importers.

The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority has also been slow in approving licenses for renewable projects, he said. If those projects had been approved, Kuruwita added, “we wouldn’t be in this mess”.

When an electrical engineer named Champika Ranawaka became energy minister in 2015, he tried to reform the CEB, Kuruwita said. He lasted eight months in the role.Now the country has run out of foreign currency to import the amount of fossil fuels its infrastructure needs. There are shortages of electricity, of cooking gas and of fuel for vehicles and for the diesel generators used as back-up power.

Before terrorist attacks in 2019 and the coronavirus pandemic, tourism provided 6% of Sri Lanka’s GDP. There were hopes it would rebound this year and bring in much needed foreign currency.But Nimesh, who works in the Atha resort in central Sri Lanka, told Climate Home that tourists are finding it hard to find vehicles to transport them as drivers are having to queue for days to get fuel.On top of that, small hotels and restaurants are suffering from power cuts. Larger hotels have generators but are finding it difficult to find fuel for them.

“These power cuts and fuel shortages are really affecting the tourism industry,” he said.

Lien Wysmans runs a backpackers’ hostel on Arugam Bay beach in the island’s east. She told Climate Home: “There are power cuts as well of about four or five hours a day… I’m freaking out”.

Although Wysmans says her guests don’t mind the power cuts, others are less tolerant. A March 2022 review for a beachfront Airbnb gives one star, citing “power cut- not their fault but created problem for us” among the reasons.A Financial Times reporter who visited the country recently said: “Anyone considering a trip to Sri Lanka this year or next also faces a difficult choice. Avoid the country entirely and the risk of a severely impacted and unexpectedly expensive trip, or support a vulnerable economy unduly impacted by the pandemic and poor management.”

Electric vehicles (with enough electricity) and rooftop solar panels would solve many of the tourist industry’s problems. But rolling them out requires money which most Sri Lankan citizens and their government don’t have.

Wysmans said solar panels “would be definitely a very good solution”. She can’t install them as she is renting the property but, even if she owned it, she said that the return on investment is 25 years. “It’s economically not beneficial for anybody because it’s just too expensive,” she said. “Also, the government is not really supporting.”

Nimesh said: “Solar panels are a great solution but the problem is government can’t afford to give financial support to invest in these projects due to the critical financial crisis that our country is facing”.

There are international schemes to help, like a Asian Development Bank funded scheme to provide low-interest loans for rooftop solar power. But these are on a small scale.

Speaking from her native Belgium, Wysmans said: “Sri Lanka has a really great opportunity for being a self-sustainable renewable energy island but the corruption is stopping all of it.”

“They’ve got the sun, they’ve got the water, they’ve got the wind, they just need to do it,” she added, “but if you have a corrupt government who wants to bring oil in where they can put half the money in their own pocket, it’s never going to happen.”

The Sustainable Energy Authority did not reply to a request for comment.

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Sri Lanka ITEC Alumni Association formally launched

Published

13 hours ago

2026/10/10

Priyan

Sri Lankan professionals trained in India under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme have formed a national alumni association. The Sri Lanka ITEC Alumni Association was formally launched at its inaugural meeting on Thursday, 8 October 2026, at the Grand Crystal Ballroom of Hotel Taj Samudra, Colombo.

The Association is a unique initiative of the Education Wing of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka. The Wing oversees India’s education and scholarship programmes for Sri Lanka, including the ITEC programme. The initiative was led by Sandeep Chaudhary, First Secretary (Education), High Commission of India. His vision and support were key to bringing Sri Lanka’s ITEC alumni together under one platform for the first time.

The Government of India launched ITEC in 1964, and it has since become one of the cornerstones of India’s development partnership with countries of the Global South. The programme is fully funded by the Government of India and offers civilian training in a wide range of fields, including public administration, finance, information technology, engineering, management, agriculture, health and the environment. Courses are delivered at leading Indian institutions. Over six decades, ITEC has trained officials and professionals from more than 160 partner countries. Sri Lanka has been one of its most active participants, and thousands of Sri Lankan public servants and professionals have benefited from the programme.

The new Association brings these alumni together from government, semi-government and private sector institutions. Its aims are to foster professional networking, knowledge sharing, capacity development and community service. It will also encourage collaboration among alumni and guide and support future Sri Lankan participants in ITEC programmes. In doing so, the Association seeks to deepen the long-standing friendship and people-to-people ties between Sri Lanka and India.

At the meeting, members elected an Executive Committee to lead the Association. Ms. Gayathri Suveendran was elected President. The other office-bearers are:

Vice Presidents: P.B. Hasith Sandaruwan and Leo Darshan
General Secretary: Anupa Weerarathne
Assistant Secretary: Vimukthi Dushantha
Treasurer: S. Rubadharshan
Assistant Treasurer: I. Ravikumar

Four sectoral committees will carry the Association’s work forward:

Establishment, Administration and Finance: Prof. M.I.M. Mujahid Hilal, M. Farwis, Milroy Aluthwatta, W.P. Suraweera, M.S. Thayaraj and Asinsala Senevirathne.

ICT, Digital Transformation and Innovation: Sujah Ameer, Danushka Diunugala, T.M.M. Perera, Tharanga, M.K.H.P. De Silva, Pubuditha Madushan and Arulkumaran Mahalingam.

Coordination, Organising and Legal Affairs: T. Srirajeevan, Theja Jayathilaka, Eng. A. Lingeswaran, Chaminda K. Uda, Kumuduni, S. Sinthujan and Ananda Arasu.

Media, Public Relations and Publications: Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi, Dr. Gayani Kaushalya, Anandi Premarathne, Vimukthi Dushantha, R. Suhanthan and Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta.

The founding of the Association marks a significant milestone for the ITEC community in Sri Lanka. It turns individual training experiences in India into a shared national resource, and it adds a new professional dimension to the enduring partnership between the two neighbours.

News

Measures underway to protect Diyagama Forest as a Reserve — Deputy Minister of Environment

Published

13 hours ago

2026/10/10

Priyan

The government is taking all necessary measures to protect the Diyagama forest area located in Homagama within the Colombo District, Deputy Minister of Environment, Anton Jayakody,
stated on Friday (9) while delivering a special address in Parliament.

Originally an abandoned plot of land, it has regenerated naturally over the past two decades into a sensitive ecosystem bearing the characteristics of a rainforest. With rapid urbanization, numerous wildlife species displaced across
the Colombo District have now migrated to and found sanctuary in this ecological haven.

Citing field research conducted by a team of scholars from the University of Colombo—including Prof. S.W. Ranwala, Prof. Ileperuma, and Prof. Abeykoon—the Deputy Minister pointed out that nearly 120 species of flora and fauna have been identified in the area. Among them are species endemic to Sri Lanka, as well as rare wildlife such as the red slender loris and pregnant animals close to giving birth, clearly testifying to the rich biodiversity thriving within this habitat.

Located adjacent to the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium and the Japan–Sri Lanka Friendship Baseball Ground, this green zone serves as a vital ecosystem for absorbing carbon
dioxide emitted by athletes and residents in the vicinity.

In addition to directly contributing toward Sri Lanka’s commitments under the Paris Agreement to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the forest also functions as a vital catchment area feeding into the Bolgoda water basin.

Accordingly, following the approval of the Colombo District Coordinating Committee (DCC) with the participation of the Divisional Secretary, government officials, and environmentalists, steps will be taken to submit a Cabinet paper to formally declare this valuable woodland a forest reserve, the Deputy Minister emphasized.

News

NPP govt. reminded of its responsibilities as US warship leaves Colombo

Published

15 hours ago

2026/10/10

Thilina Walpola

Alireza Delkhosh

Stranded Iranian ships off SL:

Iran has reminded Sri Lanka that as a member of the UN the government is obligated to fulfil its responsibilities.

Iranian Ambassador Alireza Delkhosh in Colombo said that in terms of the Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article 98) as well as SOLAS and SAR Conventions, Sri Lanka couldn’t refrain from providing the needs of the Iranian vessels stranded in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Ambassador Delkhosh was responding to a recent Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath’s declaration that neither the government nor private companies would provide food, water and medicine to these ships.

The Ambassador questioned how Sri Lanka accepted illegal and unilateral US sanctions against Iran, contrary to the JVP’s much touted historic anti-imperialistic manifesto.

The Iranian vessels are believed to be under constant US surveillance to prevent any supplies from getting through.

The Iranian Embassy made these comments as USS Tulsa (LCS 16), an Independence-variant littoral combat ship arrived in Colombo where it received supplies. The US Embassy declared that; ” this goodwill visit provides an opportunity to strengthen ties between US and Sri Lankan sailors while the ship refuels and resupplies before continuing its mission in the Indo-Pacific.”

Ambassador Delkhosh said that even if the above-mentioned Conventions weren’t adhered to, there existed, what he called, unwritten yet binding conventions that compelled Sri Lanka to assist. “It is the Convention of not forgetting past friendship and Convention of Humanitarian Actions.”

The Iranian envoy emphasised that these conventions that exempt no country from extending humanitarian aid, especially Sri Lanka, which, throughout its recent history, has been a recipient of Iranian assistance.

A section of the international media reported that Sri Lanka faced the risk of secondary sanctions from the United States if Sri Lanka allowed supplies to reach the stranded Iranian vessels. Twenty vessels are believed to be stranded in EEZ.

Former Sri Lankan Ambassador in Tehran, M.M. Zuhair, recalled how the Iranian government swiftly and decisively provided assistance, amidst western efforts to jeopardise the military campaign, by undermining the national economy.

As the war entered a crucial stage, the government found itself in an extremely difficult situation. Following talks at the highest level, Iran provided Sri Lanka with an interest-free and concessionary oil credit facility worth $1.05 billion to help obtain crude oil requirements, President’s Counsel Zuhair said.

If not for the rolling credit line, easing severe foreign exchange pressures, the Rajapakasa government could have faced an insurmountable challenge, the former diplomat said, adding that, unfortunately, those in decision-making positions now have forgotten the past. (SF)