| dc.description.abstract | Since the industrial revolution that took place in 18th and 19th centuries, here in 21st century world is facing climate changes due to the substantial increase in the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. World population which was about 1 billion people in 1800 has risen to 7 billion by 2010 and estimated to cross the 10 billion mark by 2050! The people have become electricity intensive over the years and by today, a life without electricity is unimaginable. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that by year 2011 anthropologic activities have released 1900 billion tons of CO2 (equivalent) to the atmosphere and if by the end of 2100 the total emissions are not restricted to 2900 billion tons, the global average temperature increase by the end of this century will be in excess of 2Co; and if that is the case, there will be unimaginably catastrophic impacts on the existence of many civilizations around the world. The present emission rates of CO2 are in the range of 40 billion tons a year and at this rate, the balance quota of 1000 billion tons of CO2 will be gone in 25 years! Many environmentalists have called for the world to switch to renewables immediately. There are giant steps taken in this regard in the renewable sector but in view of the huge demand on energy, these steps are too small to have any impact in containing the global average temperature increase by end of 2100 to 2Co. The technical challenges in harnessing renewable energy due to its intermittent and seasonal nature are yet to be overcome and electricity storage technologies, specially battery technologies have to become more technically and commercially viable. Coal has been used for power generation over a long period of time and world is using over 7000 million tons of coal every year. Burning coal is blamed as the main reason for the emission of CO2 to the atmosphere. A discussion has arisen in Sri Lanka whether country's electricity generation should switch from coal to LNG in view of the threats posed to the existence of the human beings due to the adverse environmental impacts of climate change. This paper discusses the relative position of Sri Lanka in regard to current and past GHG emissions, its international obligations and the possible impacts of the decision to switch from coal to LNG for power generation on the economic development of Sri Lanka. | en_US |
