Professor Mohan Munasinghe, 2021 Blue Planet Prize Laureate and co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace, recently delivered a plenary keynote speech at this year’s International Government Communications Forum 2022 held at Sharjah Expo Center on Sept 28 under the sponsorship of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, a news release from Munasinghe’s office said.

The forum aimed to build a platform for better communication and create a participatory dialogue between governments and their stakeholders, to address climate change issues. It attracted over 2,000 business leaders and decision makers from across the globe, who were addressed by world-renowned experts, including Nobel Laureates.

Prof. Munasinghe described effective mechanisms to educate the public and gain their support for collectively driving fundamental changes in society to achieve the goal of creating net zero emissions in communities and businesses, while enhancing adaptation strategies to protect the poor and vulnerable from climate impacts. He presented ideas to engage members of the public and persuade them to change their consumption attitudes, thereby making their activities more climate- and environment-friendly.

Prof. Munasinghe emphasized the importance of integrating and balancing the sustainable development triangle, including economic, social and environmental dimensions, which he first proposed at the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. He also explained how to achieve good governance through multi-stakeholder cooperation via the sustainability implementation triangle, with business, civil society and government working together. Senior UAE officials were grateful for his advice on how to achieve better results at the forthcoming COP28 in UAE in 2023.

Professor Munasinghe is Chairman of the MIND Group in Colombo, which includes the non-profit Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND), a UN recognized centre of excellence working globally on all aspects of sustainable development, and MIND AM focusing on data analytics and management. He is Chairman of the Board of Climate & Conservation Consortium (CCC), and his visit to UAE coincided with the soft launch of the Dubai office of CCC. He is also Board Director of the Eureka Group and Distinguished Guest Professor at Peking University, China. He was Chairman of the President’s Expert Committee on Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision.

He received the 2021 Blue Planet Prize (also called ‘Environmental Nobel Prize’); and shared the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace (as Vice Chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). A globally recognized expert, his work has contributed to key international agreements like the 1992 Agenda 21 & UNFCCC, 1997 Kyoto Protocol, 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and UN 2030 Agenda & Sustainable Development Goals.