Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday called for Sri Lanka to adopt a whole-of-government, science-based approach to climate resilience, warning that the country has only a ‘limited window’ to prepare for the anticipated 2026-2027 El Niño cycle, which could trigger prolonged droughts followed by severe flooding.
Addressing the National Council for Disaster Management (NCDM), chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, he stressed that climate security had become a national priority that transcends political divisions, urging all stakeholders to unite behind a long-term national resilience strategy.
‘When the lives, livelihoods and security of our people are at stake, there should be only one side, and that is Sri Lanka,’ Premadasa said, adding that his proposals were intended to constructively support the Government’s disaster preparedness efforts rather than criticise ongoing initiatives.
Citing global scientific assessments, he warned that the developing 2026-2027 El Niño-Southern Oscillation could rank among the strongest in recent decades, increasing the risk of ‘climate whiplash’, a pattern of prolonged drought followed by severe floods.
He also stressed that Sri Lanka could no longer rely on responding to disasters after they occur and must instead shift towards anticipatory governance driven by scientific forecasting, risk assessments and early preparedness.
Premadasa outlined three key priorities; making anticipatory governance the foundation of national disaster management, treating climate resilience as a whole-of-Government responsibility involving all key Ministries and agencies, and recognising that climate resilience is inseparable from economic resilience, with food, water, energy, public health, infrastructure and fiscal stability requiring an integrated policy response.
Among the measures proposed were strengthening climate preparedness, improving integrated reservoir management and water security, promoting climate-smart agriculture, modernising early warning systems through impact-based forecasting, expanding disaster risk financing, enhancing preparedness for heatwaves and public health emergencies, improving the resilience of critical infrastructure as well as establishing a National Climate Risk and Disaster Intelligence Centre to support evidence-based decision-making.
Premadasa also suggested the preparation of a Presidential White Paper on National Climate Resilience and Disaster Preparedness to provide a long-term policy framework that would outlast successive administrations. Pointing to resilience initiatives in India and Australia, he said Sri Lanka should draw on international best practices, while developing solutions suited to local conditions.
The Opposition Leader reiterated that climate change does not distinguish between governments and oppositions, political parties or communities, calling climate resilience a shared national responsibility that must be guided by science, strengthened through national unity and sustained by long-term strategic planning.