When Sri Lanka was considering whether to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, public opinion was split. To build public awareness of the Protocol’s importance and to identify public concerns, the government initiated a series of public consultation meetings. At these consultations, they found that they did not have the answers to questions regarding the potential costs and benefits of the Protocol to Sri Lanka. People also asked about resources for implementation, such as the Clean Development Mechanism. Some questioned whether the Protocol would intrude upon the sovereignty of the State or how it might affect Sri Lanka’s development agenda.
To address the numerous questions about the potential costs and benefits of ratification, the government hired a Sri Lankan consultant. The Government asked him to develop an assessment of whether Sri Lanka should ratify the Protocol, and the answer was to be supported by an analysis of the costs and benefits of ratification.
In 1999, the consultants completed their study, which recommended ratification. At this point, the Government held a series of 5 or 6 public meetings in Colombo to review and discuss the findings. These public meetings raised public awareness of the benefits and costs to Sri Lanka from ratification of the Protocol.
In preparing the Cabinet paper, seeking approval from the Cabinet to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the Government relied significantly on the cost-benefit analysis of the consultants, as well as the public consultations. This heavily analytic approach, which also emphasized public consultation, was the first time that Sri Lanka had conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the implications of ratifying an MEA. Ultimately, Sri Lanka ratified the Protocol in 2002. The three years that it took to ratify the Protocol may be attributed in large part to the controversy regarding ratification of the particular MEA. In this context, the cost-benefit analysis provided an independent assessment of the potential implications of ratification and helped to address most of the concerns raised by the public.
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