[Colombo, Sri Lanka] – May 21, 2014 – The Climate Change Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energy in association with Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) will conduct a Workshop on Climate Change Negotiationson May 22-23, 2014 at Renuka Hotel, Colombo 03.

This event is organised with the Climate Change Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energy and will be attended by officials from the Secretariat, including Director Dr Sunimal Jayathunga and 21 other Ministries as well. The primary objective of the Workshop is to equip local policymakers to better understand climate change negotiations especially with the Post-2015 Agreement being a key topic of discussion among international negotiations.

“This Workshop becomes important as it is one of the founding steps towards harnessing stronger relations between the Climate Change Secretariat in Sri Lanka and international Civil Society Organisations such as Climate Action Network South Asia. It is representative of the common approach all stakeholders have towards combatting climate change,” said CANSA Board Member Ranga Pallawala. He is also the CEO of Janathakshan.

CANSA has already begun conducting workshops with the Sri Lanka Press Institute on Climate Change and Development Journalism to better understand climate change. The workshops conducted monthly are geared to generate awareness among the public on climate change and enhance the capacity of communicators.

“Sri Lanka has tremendous potential at international negotiations as a result of belonging to both G77 and the Like Minded Developing Group, country blocs and further due to our strong ties with the Least Developed Group because of SAARC. Hence, the time is right to strengthen our standpoint on international forums and make our voice heard,” said Climate Action Network South Asia Policy and Advocacy Co-ordinator Vositha Wijenayake.

In order to address the cross-sectorial nature of major environmental challenges caused by climate change, and to fulfill the commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol, the Ministry of Environment established a Climate Change Secretariat under its preview. The Secretariat adopts a comprehensive national approach to address climate change challenges that are categorised as an environmental concern, which is also a development issue of Sri Lanka.

CANSA is a coalition of 116 civil society organisations from seven countries of South Asia, demanding that all countries ratify the second commitment period of Kyoto protocol by 2015. CANSA is on a vision to strive actively towards the protection of the global climate in a manner that promotes equity and social justice between peoples, sustainable development of all communities, and protection of the global environment.

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For further information contact Vositha Wijenayake on vositha@cansouthasia.net