Sri Lanka to launch climate justice forum for vulnerable countries

Sri Lanka will launch a climate justice forum for vulnerable and developing countries, a senior minister said here on Sunday

Colombo: Sri Lanka will launch a climate justice forum for vulnerable and developing countries, a senior minister said here on Sunday.

“Sri Lanka has proposed the establishment of a Climate Justice Forum (CJF) with the aim of accelerating the financing of losses and damages and providing an alternative and non-traditional approach,” Environment Minister Naseer Ahamed said.

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The country will launch the CJF for the vulnerable and developing countries at the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) at the upcoming 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, he said.

The 2023 UN Climate Change Conference will be held from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai.

Sri Lanka, Ahamed said, is also “of the opinion that it is appropriate to include debt justice as an essential component of the overall solution proposal to be given to the climate-vulnerable and developing countries for their mitigation and adaptation interventions, taking into account the debt crises faced by those countries”.

The minister said Sri Lanka in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme will host the fifth Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific. It will be held from October 3-6 in Colombo.

The Forum will provide a platform for governments, intergovernmental organisations and other stakeholders to discuss and prioritise environmental issues in the Asia Pacific region, he said.

Ahamed said in addition to the Gazette notification that was issued on March 31, 2021 for banning some single-use plastic items, plastic garlands, single-use spoons, forks, yogurt/ice cream spoons, plastic straws, stirrers, spoons and plastic string hopper trays will be banned within the next couple of weeks.