Premadasa urges Sri Lanka to prepare economy for climate risks
COLOMBO – Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has urged the government to strengthen economic planning against climate-related risks, warning that global weather phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña could have far-reaching consequences for the country’s agriculture, foreign reserves and financial stability.
Addressing Parliament’s Committee on Climate Change, Premadasa said climate variability should no longer be viewed solely as an environmental issue but as a major economic and fiscal risk requiring coordinated action across government institutions.
He called on the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Treasury and the Ministry of Agriculture to conduct advance assessments of how climate-driven disruptions could affect monetary policy, public finances, food production and foreign exchange reserves.
“Even if El Niño does not directly affect Sri Lanka, its impact on other countries could drive up global prices of food, fuel and gas, placing additional pressure on Sri Lanka’s economy and foreign reserves,” Premadasa said.
He said the Central Bank should undertake forward-looking studies to better prepare for external shocks arising from global climate events.
Premadasa also called for closer coordination between the central government and provincial councils to formulate a comprehensive national agricultural policy, noting that agriculture’s contribution to the economy has continued to decline.
He proposed the development of a national water management strategy integrating the Mahaweli irrigation system with major and minor reservoirs to improve water security and strengthen the country’s resilience to droughts and floods.
The opposition leader also urged the government to review its disaster financing strategy, noting that international financial institutions often reallocate funds from ongoing development projects to emergency relief following natural disasters.
Such reallocations, he said, can delay infrastructure and development programs, and Sri Lanka should therefore negotiate mechanisms with development partners to ensure diverted funds are replenished once emergencies subside.
Premadasa further argued that Sri Lanka should seek grants and humanitarian assistance, rather than additional borrowing, to finance disaster response whenever possible.
He also called for the establishment of a framework to accurately quantify the economic cost of environmental degradation and wildlife losses caused by natural disasters, saying such assessments would strengthen future policy planning and improve access to international climate finance.
-ENCL
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