JOINT CLIMATE CHANGE DIALOGUE IN SRI LANKA 2022 AND BEYOND
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) hosted a high-level dialogue for stakeholders from the Sri Lankan and Maldivian government, private sector, banks, academia and civil society. The Joint Climate Change Dialogues are a series of events organized by the Netherlands embassy focused on preparing policy discussions in upcoming international conferences. These first dialogues served as a platform ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties, better known as COP 27.
The Joint Climate Change Dialogues brought together a diverse group of national and international experts to discuss the detrimental effects of climate change in Sri Lanka on water availability, agriculture, food security and supply chains. As one of the organizers, Dr. Simon Langan, Country Manager and Director IWMI stressed the importance of these collaborations: “Considering Sri Lanka’s need for climate change adaption, increasing awareness and networking among stakeholders, education in general, and capacity strengthening concerning climate change is vital.”
The Netherlands embassy not only funds the dialogues but also co-designed format and content with IWMI which allowed for lively discussions on how to confront the risks and vulnerabilities of agriculture, food security and infrastructure in Sri Lanka as result of climate change concerning. Sri Lanka has witnessed increasing climate hazards such as droughts, floods and cyclones.
“The Netherlands has a long history of dealing with water and climate change as well,” said the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Bonnie Horbach, in her opening address. “Solving our climate challenges domestically is not sufficient anymore. We need to build global alliances to tackle the issue of climate change and we aim to support those countries, like Sri Lanka, that are committed to mitigating and adapting climate change.”
The dialogue further identified innovations, particularly in green financing and capacity strengthening to address the risks and vulnerabilities and identified options for different sectors and actors to access international green finance and other financial facilities.
The next Joint Climate Change Dialogues will be focus on UN2023 water conference to facilitate discussions on Sri Lanka’s engagement in global challenges related to water, climate change, access to international climate finance.
The Netherlands Embassy sponsored the dialogue to strengthen Sri Lanka’s vital contribution at upcoming global events such as COP 27 in Egypt and the 2023 UN Water Conference.
The UN Water Conference will take place in New York next year and is co-hosted by the Netherlands and Tajikistan. Main objective of the Water Conference is to review progress on the Water Action Decade and accelerate actions on water-related climate actions with like-minded and equally committed partners.
Insights on Accessing Climate Finance
As the second event in the series of efforts organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the International Water Management Institute on Climate Change and Water Dialogues, Policymakers and Private Sector organizers were invited to ‘Insights on Accessing Climate Finance’ held in collaboration with the Dutch Development Bank on the 9th of February 2023.
Due to the circumstances of the Pandemic, this session was hosted as an online meeting conducted by colleagues at the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) where valuable insights, ideas, strategies and information was shared between an audience of professionals who were interested in accessing international climate finance, in the context of the then-prevailing economic situation of Sri Lanka.
Climate Change and Water Dialogues: 2023 and Beyond
At the well-attended dialogue, Sri Lanka and the Maldives highlighted critical challenges on climate change and water faced by Small Island Developing States. The discussion underscored the importance of collaboration when lobbying for concrete commitments towards solving these challenges, at the upcoming UN 2023 Water Conference. The Climate Envoy for Maldives, Ms. Sabra Noordeen stressed the dire issue of water vulnerability in the Maldives, expressing the need for urgent action to reduce the global water crisis.
The President’s Advisor on Environment, Climate Change and Green Finance Dr. Mallawatantri supported this standpoint, highlighting Sri Lanka’s issues. Although rich in water resources, inadequate protection and management adversely affects the availability of quality water, and preservation of water sources through optimum management is a priority for Sri Lanka.
The Dutch Envoy for Water Affairs, Mr. Ovink addressing the forum online said that “these challenges will be discussed at the water conference, which presented a unique opportunity to share challenges and best practices, leading to collective action and solutions for the water crisis.” Dr. Mark Smith, Director General, IWMI called for “bolder changes to ensure water security” as water scarcity rapidly increases. He outlined eight missions for science-based action for a water secure future, to be collaboratively achieved with other stakeholders. H.E. Bonnie Horbach, Ambassador for the Netherlands urged for cohesive action that “went beyond promises, stating that climate change and water issues transcend boundaries acutely affecting many countries, including the Netherlands.” She encouraged participants to share knowledge and expertise to achieve imperative changes for a secure planet.
The dialogue had participants from all sectors who had opportunity for an interactive discussion with the speakers and an eminent panel comprising Ms. Priyanka Dissanayake of the World Bank, Mr. Leel Randeni, Director Climate Change Secretariat of Sri Lanka and IWMI’s Dr. Nishadi Eriyagama.
The UN 2023 Water Conference will be held from 22- 24 March in New York and aims to bring about firm commitments to deliver on water actions in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These actions will also contribute towards outcomes of the COP28.
CLIMATE CHANGE & WATER DIALOGUE: PRIVATE SECTOR ROUND TABLE
The Netherlands Embassy along with IWMI convened the fourth and final session in a series of dialogues on Climate Change and Water, focusing on the private sector and the specific risks, challenges and opportunities for collaboration in an increasingly climate-threatened environment.
In her opening remarks, H.E. Bonnie Horbach, Ambassador spoke of the impact of climate change on business revenue and sustainability, pointing out that responsible and successful businesses were addressing climate risk in their strategies, emphasizing that “to mitigate the effects of climate change, we need to collaborate and move beyond corporate greenwashing and make firm commitments.”
Dr. Simon Langan, Principal Research and Country Manager of IWMI, touched on IWMI’s transformative strategies for water security and science-based action for a water secure future. He stated that collaboration is vital in arriving at solutions.
Panelists from the private sector included Dr. Roshan Rajadurai of Hayley’s Plantations who stated that Climate action is salient, as a slight climate variation massively impacts production and Ms. Sharika Senanayake of MAS Holdings who stated that access to water and the quality of water is essential for their production processes too, highlighting that MAS is taking steps to reduce water-use intensity. The third panelist Mr. Sean Henricus of Heineken Lanka Ltd, spoke of the critical impacts of climate change on the beer industry as all ingredients used in manufacturing were climate sensitive and thus, a sustainability agenda is of key focus.
It was agreed that collaborations and a knowledge hub for accessing and sharing information and best practices is essential.
IWMI’s panelist Dr Niranga Alahacoon elaborated on a pilot project for providing bundled solutions for farmers, citing the possibility of further developments to assist other sectors vulnerable to climate change.
The discussion concluded with a question-and-answer session.
