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Sri Lanka Proposes Establishment of a global Biosphere Reserve Bank
at The World Sustainable Development Summit 2023 in New Delhi
February 24, 2023. At the High-level Session on COP28 Compass -Towards Equity & Climate Justice held under the auspices of the World Sustainable Development Summit 2023 that concluded in New Delhi today, Environment Minister Naseer Ahmed mooted the idea of establishing a “first-of-its-kind international development bank” and proposed it be called the Biosphere Reserve Bank.
Justifying Biosphere Reserve Bank as a planetary imperative, Minister Naseer said, “without scaling up climate finance on a Biblical scale, with what is famously known in history as the Dunkirk Spirit, we will only win the battle, but lose the war.”
Positioning Biosphere Reserve Bank as the centerpiece of a revitalized and reengineered Climate Justice Forum, the minister declared in front of a distinguished panel of speakers that “the overarching goal of COP28 Presidency should be to universalize biosphere consciousness and ecological citizenship as the rocket fuel for radical and accelerated overhaul and transformation of global economy and financial architecture. Global cumulative climate debt, with no sign of abating, is a ticking time bomb.”
Shri Rajani Ranjan Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow and Program Director, Earth Science and Climate Change at The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), who chaired this high-octane session on climate justice, hailed the idea of a global Biosphere Reserve Bank as “transformational”.
Minister Naseer Ahamed unveiled the ground-breaking idea, destined to be a game changer in climate finance, in his ministerial address in front of Ms. Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, Federal Foreign Office, Germany, who joined the session virtually, H.E. Mr. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Ms. Leena Nandan, Secretary (EF&CC), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India and other distinguished speakers.
Referring to recent authoritative reports on the magnitude of untapped opportunities for investing in nature and the calamitous cost of inaction, the minister made a powerful case for the establishment of the Biosphere Reserve Bank. As the reason for suggesting this name for the bank the minister said, “Climate finance is all about protecting and restoring the biosphere for future generations.”
Minister Naseer proposed Colombo as the venue for the world HQ of the proposed Biosphere Reserve Bank. “As the historic host and headquarter of the world famous Colombo Plan, Colombo, located at the demographic cockpit of the world, sharing a mere 15 mile long sea border with our great neighbour India that has the most ambitious green transition ambition in the world, will be an ideal location for the proposed bank, in my humble opinion,” the minister said in support of Colombo’s unrivaled geostrategic eligibility for the honor as the birthplace of the idea whose time has come.
The minister proposed to submit viable go-to-market strategies and a roadmap within 6 months for the Biosphere Reserve Bank to the President-Designate for COP28 UAE Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, outlining the operational modalities, sources of fund, technical, quantitative, qualitative & governance parameters for mainstreaming and integrating climate finance with conventional finance.
In support of the proposed Biosphere Reserve Bank, Minister Naseer Ahamed quoted the remarks of Managing Director of IMF Kristalina Georgieva made at the First High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on November 9, 2022, where she said that investment needs for climate adaptation and mitigation are far larger than the $100 billion that advanced economies have committed to provide to developing countries. For adaptation she said that we need to agree on a shared definition of what constitutes an adaptation measure versus a business-as-usual investment, and we need to agree on how we estimate investment needs.
Reiterating IMF chief’s remarks at COP27, Minister Naseer brought to light the Achilles heel of Climate Finance, saying “we still do not have a common definition—or at least a shared understanding—of what we consider climate finance, together with an agreed methodology for calculating climate finance with all relevant quantitative and qualitative parameters.”
On the multilateral front, the Minister brought home the need for high-income economies to “recalibrate international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, and double down on capital injection so that they can significantly enhance the quantity and quality of access to climate finance at the local government and grass roots levels.” For aligning conventional finance with sustainability goals and the triple bottom lines of people, planet and profit, the minister suggested that multilateral lenders should phase out conventional risk metrics based on the prevailing country credit rating indices “which are anachronistic, and permissive of climate colonialism.”
“By adopting and mainstreaming climate-smart risk metrics, multilateral lenders, international banks, sovereign wealth funds and impact investors can unlock trillions of dollars’ worth of green transition opportunities worldwide, that so many recent authoritative reports have revealed.” Minister Naseer put a spotlight on.
Biosphere Reserve Bank As the Marshall Plan for the Global South
Recognizing the historic agreement on Loss and Damage Fund at COP27 as a landmark achievement of “reparatory justice”, Naseer Ahamed hoped that the fund, currently in its embryonic state, will pave the way for a “Marshal Plan” for climate vulnerable countries in the Global South where 80% of world population live.
As the Minister of Environment of one of the most vulnerable countries on the frontline of climate crises, facing large scale biodiversity loss, Naseer Ahamed brought to the fore the need for greater collective voice for urgent, speedy and equitable execution of the loss & damage fund. “Securing political visibility, equality & transparency, and front row seats for a united Global South to discuss and determine the trajectory, velocity, quality, quantity and accessibility of the Loss & Damage Fund will be the acid test for rebuilding trust between developed and developing countries,” Minister Ahamed called attention to without mincing words.
Hitting the nail right on the head, applying strategic wisdom from this time-tested adage that the squeaking wheel gets the oil, Minister Naseer made a call to action for the formation of a “Climate Justice Forum” prior to COP28 for amalgamating and amplifying the conscience, voice and existential interests of the like-minded climate vulnerable developing countries from the grassroots to the highest policy makers. “The Climate Justice Forum (CJI) will exemplify the principles and best practices of 21st century statecraft & digital diplomacy, and harness the power of Generation Z, to ensure that science, not geopolitics, will drive how climate finance and the loss of damage fund should evolve and function to save the planet from an ecological apocalypse,” the minister said elucidating his vision of a laser-focused and results-driven CJI.
Link to Press Release on the High-level Session on COP28 Compass -Towards Equity & Climate Justice at the 22nd World Sustainable Development Summit by Summit Host The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI):
WORLD SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT 2023
The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is the annual flagship multi-stakeholder convening by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Instituted in 2001 as Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, the Summit series has marked more than 20 years in its journey of making ‘sustainable development’ a globally shared goal. Over the years, the Summit series has brought together 54 Heads of State and Government, 13 Nobel Laureates, 103 Ministers, 1888 Business Leaders, 2745 Speakers, and 38280 Delegates.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka expresses profound appreciation for the services of environmental evangelism, unlocking deep insights into Sri Lanka’s ecological assets, from 1 Earth Holdings Inc. of Canada.
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