COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday (7) launched his country’s ‘Climate Prosperity Plan’ at the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el Sheikh (COP27), together with Bangladesh, Ghana, and Maldives who are also preparing such plans aimed at emboldening growth despite an increasingly climate insecure world.The Sri Lankan Climate Prosperity Plan (CPP) is a roadmap to attract foreign investment in Sri Lanka’s economy to boost economic growth and employment, while also accelerating climate adaptation and bringing down the country’s greenhouse gas emissions as it transitions towards net negative emissions.President Wickremesinghe spoke alongside Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, and Maldivian Vice President Faisel Naseem.Compared to a Business As Usual scenario, Sri Lanka’s Climate Prosperity Plan is expected to deliver an economic growth rate that is 1% per year higher, resulting in GDP that is 34% higher by 2050.The Sri Lankan plan sets a target of increasing Sri Lanka’s renewable energy generation from 35% to 70% by 2030.
The transport, forestry, water and tourism sectors have similarly ambitious aims. The plan provides a pathway for Sri Lanka to become a carbon negative economy before mid-century.Speaking at a Climate Prosperity Plan leaders panel hosted by the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), a coalition of 58 developing countries that are highly vulnerable to climate change, of which Sri Lanka is a member, President Wickremesinghe said:“The Climate Prosperity Plan is the beginning of a radical change in our economy… I hope our plan is a pathfinder for other countries to be less polluting and develop a more climate-friendly economy.