President Mahinda Rajapaksa has called on the international community to address the dangers posed by climate change collectively. Addressing over 100 other world leaders on Tuesday, 23^rd September 2014, while participating in the United Nations Summit on Climate Change, in New York, the President highlighted that principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities should guide the search for common solutions to issues related to climate change. Sri Lanka ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1993 and acceded to the Kyoto Protocol in 2002.

In his address, the President drew attention to the philosophy of Gautma Buddha, that have inspired successive leaders that the Earth and its vegetation did not belong to rulers, but that they were only temporary trustees who had to protect the environment for the benefit of future generations. In this regard, he noted that the Mahinda Chintana policy agenda of the Government, included a number of strategies to address climate change, ranging from increasing forest cover; expanding the non-conventional renewable energy contribution to the national grid; rehabilitating and restoring estuaries, lagoons, mangroves, salt marshes, sand dunes, beaches and grass-beds to safeguard the coastline; implementation of a Green Transport System and a Fuel Quality Road Map, and multi-resource watershed management to improve water availability and retention. It was also pointed out that although Sri Lanka was able to triple its per capita income in the last eight years, its per capita carbon emission remained less than one metric ton. President Rajapaksa also noted that as Chair in Office of the Commonwealth, Sri Lanka, had paid particular attention to incorporating the resilience of small states to climate change and natural disasters, and developing innovative proposals on climate finance. The potential for simplified arrangements for access to climate funds for SIDS and LDCs was also being explored.

The full text of the statement made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Global Climate Summit follows below.

 Ministry of External Affairs

Colombo

26^th September 2014