NEW DELHI: Minister of Environment Naseer Ahamed met with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Special Envoy on Climate Change and COP28 President-Designate, UAE on Thursday,Feb.24 on the side-lines of the World Sustainable Development Summit currently underway in New Delhi.
Minister Naseer Ahamed whilst briefing Dr. Al Jaber conveyed the vision and approach of President Ranil Wickremasinghe and the government of Sri Lanka on global Climate Change impact with special reference to developing country needs and perspectives. He said that Sri Lanka being a country with a higher level climate vulnerability would expect COP process to be more sensitive and adjustable to climate vulnerable developing countries. He also said that due to increasingly felt need for developing countries to have greater voice on COP issues such as the loss & damage funding, climate financing etc. Sri Lanka is mooting the idea of forming ‘Climate Justice Forum’ as a separate grouping of climate vulnerable developing countries to ensure greater equity and climate justice on the global scale. Minister Ahamed also proposed as part of Sri Lanka’s priority concerns the establishment of a ‘Biosphere Reserve Bank’ dedicated to promote climate financing including, green bonds, blue bonds, debt-to-nature swaps, debt-to-climate swaps and other green financing instruments etc.
Dr. Al Jaber, the COP28 President-designate assured Minister Ahamed that the COP28 summit will ensure that the concerns of the Global South will be adequately accommodated during the COP27 summit. He also assured that Climate Financing will be made easily available, accessible and affordable to the developing countries. The COP28 President –designate stated that the UAE’s approach will be pragmatic and will be one where ‘passion meets reality‘.
The two dignitaries have been invited to address the World Sustainable Development Summit 2023 by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of India, which is an independent, multi-dimensional organisation with expertise in research, policy, consultancy and implementation.
