COP21 – Preventing a ‘Cop out’?

By Kithmina Hewage

Research Assistant, IPS 

On the 12^th of December, 195 countries achieved what many regarded as the impossible by agreeing on a framework to tackle climate change. The 21^st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) committed to a deal to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius. The countless rounds of negotiations that failed to achieve universal approval magnify the significance of this agreement. Therefore COP21 is a major victory for multilateralism and especially the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, as the saying goes, “the devil is in the details” – which appear thin for now about its implementation. This blog post briefly discusses the political-economy challenges and opportunities presented by the Paris Agreement, with particular emphasis on developing countries.

The Impact of Price on the Organic Rice Farming Sector in Sri Lanka

By Chatura Rodrigo
Research Economist, IPS 

Developing the organic rice farming sector and ensuring that it makes a significant contribution towards the rice consumption in Sri Lanka is a necessity today. However, for the past decade, the spread of organic rice production in the country was limited to marginalized lands. Many farmers cultivate for their own consumption; while only a portion of rice is sent to urban markets. This too targets a selected segment of consumers, mostly the upper middle income and high income groups. While many argue that the slow growth in the sector is due to the difficulties in production, one cannot ignore that the high price of organic rice has a possible impact on the reduction in the demand for consumption.

CLIMATEnet Policy Discussion Forum

Linking Expert Knowledge to Generate Policy Insights on Climate Change Adaptation Under Uncertainty

Introduction

Climate change is a global phenomenon which is fast becoming an inevitable reality. Each country has to develop sound policies, strategies and practices to combat impacts of climate change. Sri Lanka is not an exception. While developed countries are more concerned about mitigation of climate change through investments on low carbon technologies, developing nations are compelled to focus on adaptation measures. Global projections indicate developing countries are likely to undergo more hardships due to impacts of climate change.

Climate change impacts are complex and spread over a broad spectrum of economic sectors and geographical areas.  Among the more vulnerable sectors in Sri Lanka are agriculture, fisheries, coast conservation, irrigation, health, disaster management, power and energy and industry.  The key strategy to face the impacts of climate change is adaptation. Adaptation refers to adjustments, which are in response to actual or expected variability or change in climate in order to moderate and cope with harmful impacts or to take advantage of opportunities. Human society in general is adaptive to changing conditions. Nevertheless, wide-ranging impacts spread over vast geographical areas at relatively rapid pace call for the necessity of planned efforts of adaptation supported by well-designed policies.