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UN Ambassador on Climate Change praises Lanka for initiatives already taken

Published

5 years ago

2021/08/9

By Ifham Nizam

Sri Lanka is the best in South Asia as regards efforts being made to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency, Ken O’Flaherty, says Ambassador for Asia-Pacific and the South Asia Region at the United Nations Office for Climate Change (COP26).

Ambassador O’Flaherty said so when he met Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister Environment, and Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe last Friday. He was accompanied by Andrew Price, Head of the Prosperity Unit, British High Commission in Colombo.

The Ambassador invited the Minister of Environment and the Ministry Secretary to represent Sri Lanka at the International Conference on COP 26 Climate Change to be held in Belgrade in November this year.

The Ambassador also briefed the Minister on the manner in which the Sri Lankan government had implemented the decisions taken by the United Nations Conference on Climate Change to Prevent the Impact of Climate Change.

The Minister said that a number of policy decisions had been taken so far to tackle a number of issues that could contribute to climate change, in line with the Prosperity Vision Policy Statement presented by the current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Amaraweera said that President Rajapaksa had decided against the construction of new coal-fired power plants and that 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s electricity needs would be met from renewable energy from 2030. It would also increase the use of hydro power as well as solar and wind power to generate electricity.

“We will build two LNG power plants and encourage the import of electric cars, and increase the country’s forest cover to 30 percent by 2030”, Minister Amaraweera told the visitors.

The Minister also said one of the objectives of the government was to improve the national transport services which are responsible for increasing air pollution.He also pointed out that the importation, manufacture, distribution and sale of a number of polythene and plastic-based products that caused environmental pollution had been banned in the country.

Amaraweera said that all those decisions had been taken on the instructions of President Rajapaksa to protect the environment.

Sri Lanka is also an island and could face more adverse conditions due to the adverse global impact, the Ambassador said.

However, he emphasised that Sri Lanka was ahead of other countries in the South Asian region in complying with international recommendations on climate change mitigation.

Ambassador O’Flaherty congratulated the government on such successes.

Several officials of the Ministry were also present on the occasion.

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CEYPETCO Fuel prices increased from midnight today (21)

Published

1 hour ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight today (21).

Accordingly,

Auto Diesel – Rs. 382 (increased by Rs. 79)

Super Diesel – Rs. 443 (increased by Rs. 90)

Petrol 92 Octane – Rs. 398 (increased by Rs. 81)

Kerosene – Rs. 255. (increased by Rs. 60)

Petrol 95 Octane – Rs. 455 (increased by Rs. 90)

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts

Published

8 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre Issued at 12.30 p.m. 21 March 2026, valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 21 March 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:

 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.

 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.

 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.

 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

News

Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport

Published

13 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Sri Lanka’s president says his government turned down a request from the United States to land two US combat aircraft at a civilian airport earlier this month.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Sri Lanka’s parliament on Friday that Washington had requested permission for the aircraft to land at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka from March 4 to 8.

The request was made on February 26, two days before the US and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran.

“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight antiship missiles from a base in Djibouti”, Dissanayake told lawmakers. “We turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality”, he added to applause.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked widespread concern globally, as Iranian missile and drone attacks across the wider Middle East have sent energy prices soaring and fuelled fears of a widening conflict.

US President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Washington’s allies to show more support for the war, slamming NATO countries as “cowards” for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has essentially shuttered the critical Gulf waterway amid the war, forcing leaders around the world to scramble to try to offset the effects on their economies and energy supplies.

Amid the turmoil, many countries have refused to get directly involved in the war while calling for urgent de-escalation.

On Friday, Switzerland announced that it would halt any weapons exports to the US that could be used in military operations against Iran, citing its longstanding policy of neutrality.

“The export of war materiel to countries involved ⁠in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict”, the Swiss government said.

Sri Lanka’s president also cited his country’s neutrality in the decision to deny the US request to land the two aircraft at Matalla airport earlier this month.

Dissanayake said he had received another request that same day, on February 26, from Iran to seek permission for three naval vessels to make a goodwill visit to Sri Lanka.

“With two requests before us, the decision was clear,” he said, noting that the government denied both to avoid taking sides as signs of escalating conflict emerged.

“Had we said ‘yes’ to Iran, we would have had to say ‘yes’ to the US, as well”, Dissanayake added.

In early March, Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian crew off IRIS Dena after it was torpedoed by a US submarine off the country’s coast, killing at least 84 people.

Days later, Sri Lanka evacuated more than 200 crew members from a second Iranian vessel, IRIS Bushehr, after the ship requested assistance from Colombo.

[Aljazeera]