Lanka to sign Paris Agreement to minimize global warming

Sri Lanka, with the help of community organizations, will launch a program to set up 10,000 environment friendly villages throughout the country by 2020.

Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers has approved a proposal made by President Maithripala Sirisena to sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases and to formulate laws to establish a commission relating to climate change.

Addressing an environment conference held in Ratnapura on Thursday, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said that the world leaders, who participated in the United Nations Climate Change Conference last year, will meet again in New York to sign that charter.

Sri Lanka at the 21st session of the United Nations Framework Convention held in the French capital of Paris on Environmental disaster (UNFCCC) from November 30 till December 11 last year agreed to contribute to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Sri Lanka will launch 10,000 'Green Smart Villages' environment friendly villages throughout the country in collaboration with community organizations to implement the 'Green Environmental Beautiful Sri Lanka' program during the five-year period from 2016 to 2020.

At the UNFCCC meeting in Paris, 180 countries agreed to take all possible measures to maintain the global warmth level at least at 1.5 degree Celsius and to prevent it from increasing beyond 2 degree Celsius by 2100.

The Paris agreement will come into effect in 2020, empowering all countries to act to prevent average global temperatures rising above 2 degrees Celsius.