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Dear SLYCAN Trust Community,

October marked the launch of ClimaComms, a new initiative on climate communication by SLYCAN Trust, aimed at empowering communicators worldwide in enhancing evidence-driven climate communication.

Among our work on policy processes for the month of October, we contributed to enhancing the public participation in the revision of Sri Lanka's National Climate Change Policy (NCCP). This included engaging multiple stakeholders through two dialogues i.e. the Dialogue on Climate Change Policy and Youth Dialogue on Climate Change Policy of Sri Lanka. Both dialogues aimed to create a safe platform for diverse voices to be heard and to actively contribute to shaping a more resilient climate policy.

As part of our Youth Work Programme, SLYCAN Trust Youth continued the work on the Global Thematic Dialogues under the Global Youth Forum on Climate Change. The team in collaboration with EthicalX organised a Thematic Dialogue on Climate-Friendly Fashion Entrepreneurship, shedding light on existing challenges and promoting climate-conscious entrepreneurship.

And in Ghana, our country fellow, Esther Mireku, represented SLYCAN Trust at the International Conference on Inclusive Insurance 2023 where she engaged actively in contributing to the solutions related to climate and disaster risk transfer including insights on climate-induced loss and damage and the need for inclusive mechanisms to protect vulnerable communities.

In the Work Programme on Loss and Damage, our work this month feature case study development which includes a case study on Landslide Risk, Human Mobility, and Climate-Induced Loss and Damage from Sri Lanka, while we work towards finalizing our country case studies in Uganda, Maldives and Ghana.

As part of our Work Programme on Ethical Food Systems, our work focused on food entrepreneurship and plant-based protein research. Stay tuned for details on the Global Entrepreneurs’ Forum on Innovative and Climate-friendly Food Systems in our next newsletter!

Thank you for your continued support.

Warm regards,

Vositha Wijenayake

Executive Director, SLYCAN Trust Global

Communications

Introducing ClimaComms: a New Initiative for Climate Communications

In October, we also introduced ClimaComms, our new initiative for climate communication. ClimaComms aims to support and empower communicators in enhancing evidence-driven and science-based communication on climate change, as well as to build capacities on technical aspects. It is also about providing spaces for enhancing and scaling up climate literacy and communication processes, with the objective to better engage journalists, media professionals, and communicators from across the world to build climate awareness, raise climate literacy and contribute to scaling up evidence and science-driven climate action at all levels.

Key activities under this initiative include:

• Capacity-building of communicators, journalists, and media professionals on climate change and relevant processes at all levels.

• Setting up Comms Labs to better engage communicators, generate evidence and science-driven outputs, and co-create innovative communication products.

• Offering fellowships for communicators under identified thematic areas related to climate change.

• Providing a platform for sharing experiences, good practices, and case studies.

• Facilitating multi-stakeholder engagement for forging partnerships and collaborations

  
  

To engage and for more information on the initiative, please write to us at climacomms@slycantrust.org

Climate Change Policy

Dialogue on Climate Change Policy of Sri Lanka

The Climate Change Policy Dialogue was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on October 9th, 2023, with a crucial aim— to contribute to the revision of Sri Lanka's National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) introduced in 2012. SLYCAN Trust organized this dialogue in response to the Ministry of Environment's call for public feedback on the revised policy.

The dialogue aimed to encourage public participation and engage experts from various sectors like agriculture, banking and finance, academia, and entrepreneurship. The inputs and suggestions from these experts were compiled into a document and handed over to the Ministry of Environment, contributing to the revision of the National Climate Change Policy.

This dialogue put a strong emphasis on inclusivity, relevance, and effective contributions to the policy-making process. It aimed to create a platform for diverse voices to be heard and actively contribute to shaping a more resilient climate policy.

Youth

Youth Dialogue on Climate Change Policy of Sri Lanka

On the 9th of October, SLYCAN Trust Youth hosted the Youth Dialogue on Climate Change Policy of Sri Lanka.

As mentioned earlier, considering the evolving climate risks and the necessity for sustainable development and long-term resilience-building, Sri Lanka undertook a revision of its National Climate Change Policy (NCCP), initially published in 2012. Subsequently, the Ministry of Environment made the revised Policy available for public input. To encourage public participation, engage with key thematic experts, and amplify the voices of youth, SLYCAN Trust youth organized the Youth Dialogue on Climate change policy of Sri Lanka.

The event was structured around three distinct group discussions, each tackling specific aspects of climate-related topics. The first group delved into governance and regulatory aspects, climate vulnerability, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The second group focused on climate adaptation, climate investment and financing, as well as technology development and transfer. The third group addressed cross-cutting topics across various areas of climate-related discussions.

Climate-friendly Entrepreneurship in Fashion

On October 28, the SLYCAN Trust Youth and the Global Youth Forum on Climate Change organized a Thematic Dialogue focusing on Climate-Friendly Fashion Entrepreneurship. The event featured a presentation by Ms. Josie Mackenzie, who discussed the global fashion supply chain, highlighting its environmental impact and the principles of sustainable fashion. She also emphasized the issues of synthetic fibers, water consumption, and hazardous dyes in the fashion industry.

Ms. Nanna Nipper and Ms. Alafiya Najmudeen, representatives of the EthicalX cohort, shared insights about their businesses, Rooted and ALEAF, which focus on ethical, sustainable fashion and community empowerment. The event encouraged engagement and discussions about the challenges in the fashion industry and how young individuals can promote climate-conscious entrepreneurship in climate-friendly fashion.

The event was preceded with an open discussion, on the challenges faced by the fashion industry and how youth can foster climate-conscious entrepreneurship in climate friendly fashion.

Loss and Damage

International Conference on Inclusive Insurance 2023

Our country fellow in Ghana, Esther Mireku, participated in the International Conference on Inclusive Insurance 2023, which took place from October 23rd to 27th in Accra, Ghana.

As a panelist in the session on "Pathfinder countries leading the way: First-hand experiences and perspectives on implementing the Global Shield against Climate Risks," she shared findings from our country case study on climate-induced loss and damage and highlighted the importance of inclusive mechanisms that support and protect vulnerable communities impacted by climate change and human mobility.

Global Goal on Adaptation

The 8th UNFCCC Workshop under the Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh Work Programme

The 8th UNFCCC workshop under the Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh work programme took place in Botswana on the 27th-29th September. The secretariat has published the summary report of the last in the series of eight workshops, and Parties will now be preparing positions to negotiate the features and targets of the Global Goal on Adaptation framework at COP28 in Dubai.

SLYCAN Trust will support Fellows under the GGA programme to prepare for and attend COP28.

As part of the preparation for COP28 and the development of relevant knowledge products, SLYCAN Trust is also hosting an Intergenerational Dialogue on the GGA for youth organizations and representatives, seeking opportunities to integrate the six pillars of ACE (including youth engagement) into the GGA framework and subsequent activity.

Risk Management

Finalization of the case study on Landslide Risk, Human Mobility and Climate-induced Loss and Damage in Sri Lanka

SLYCAN Trust is collaborating with the National Building Research Organization of Sri Lanka to develop a case study focusing on Landslide Risk, Human Mobility, and Climate-Induced Loss and Damage in Sri Lanka. During October, as part of these efforts, the SLYCAN Trust research team were working to finalize the case study.

This collaborative initiative aims to examine the relationship between human mobility, loss and damage, and natural hazards, with a particular emphasis on landslides in Sri Lanka. The study will specifically focus on planned relocation and resettlement strategies in high-risk and medium risk regions.  Moreover, the study will strive to identify climate-related risks posed by landslides to people living in vulnerable areas. It will explore how these risks can be addressed, mitigated, and adapted to. Work from this case study will be shared at the UNFCCC COP28, which starts end of November 2023.

Research Report: Strengthening Sri Lanka's Ecosystem for Climate and Disaster Risk Management and Finance

Ethical, Sustainable & Climate-friendly Entrepreneurship

Supporting and scaling up outreach of plant-based entrepreneurship

Eight cohorts were selected to create narrative videos that showcase their brand stories. Two of these cohorts' production facilities were visited, and essential footage was captured.

As part of EthicalX communication support, a set of videos will be produced focusing on 8 cohort members to showcase their story and show how they are ethical, sustainable and climate- friendly. The main difference to previously shot videos is that these videos will be shot at their production plant capturing their production process to build a narrative video covering all aspect of the production line from the sourcing of raw ingredients to packaging. The final output will be published on various channels (social media and web pages) to enhance their reach.

Gender

In the Dialogue on the National Climate Change Policy and Youth Dialogue, the morning session had 21 experts with 17 males and 4 females. In the evening session, 13 youth participated with 6 females and 7 males.

In the Global Thematic Dialogue on Climate-Friendly Entrepreneurship in Fashion, there were 13 female participants and 10 male participants.

In the Media

COP28: What is at stake?

Vositha Wijenayake, Executive Director of SLYCAN Trust Global

The Morning, 28 Oct 2023

Mobilising finance for addressing climate-induced loss and damage

Dennis Mombauer, Director of Research and Knowledge Management at SLYCAN Trust Global

Daily FT, 28 Oct 2023

Climate risk management in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector

Vositha Wijenayake, Executive Director of SLYCAN Trust Global

The Morning, 14 Oct 2023

Transforming Sri Lanka’s fashion sector towards resilience and sustainability

Dennis Mombauer, Director of Research and Knowledge Management at SLYCAN Trust Global

Daily FT, 14 Oct 2023

Addressing climate-related loss and damage: Understanding the gaps, needs and challenges

Vositha Wijenayake, Executive Director of SLYCAN Trust Global

The Morning, 7 Oct 2023

Aligning climate change adaptation between the national and global level

Dennis Mombauer, Director of Research and Knowledge Management at SLYCAN Trust Global

Daily FT, 7 Oct 2023