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Lanka’s ‘green‑and‑clean’ push puts LNG in climate action plan
View(s):By Namini Wijedasa
Sri Lanka, in its draft updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)—which are climate action plans under the Paris Agreement—has adjusted the country’s target of achieving 70% renewable energy by 2030 to renewable and “clean” energy, known in the power sector to mean electricity generated from liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The pledge to achieve 70% renewable energy in electricity generation by 2030 was first published in Sri Lanka’s NDCs of 2021 (NDC 2.0), after Cabinet approval.
In the latest draft NDCs—NDC 3.0—the first reference to the 2030 pledge reiterates the commitment to 70% renewable energy, but the next reference to this interim target refers to “70% clean energy generation, supported by the growing investments in solar, wind, hydro, and biomass”.
NDC 2.0 identified LNG, or indigenous natural gas, as a component to maintain a “firm capacity” in the energy supply, alongside high-efficiency coal power, large storage hydro, furnace oil, and non-conventional renewable energy sources. Its primary role was to support emission reduction efforts by serving as an alternative to more carbon-intensive fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, NDC 3.0 more explicitly defines natural gas’s role as “base load power plants to complement renewable resources and ensure reliability and resource adequacy”. It reinforces that natural gas is a valuable alternative to coal-fired power plants in providing flexible power, especially with increased penetration of variable renewable energy sources.
Both documents are consistent in stating that no new coal power plant addition is expected for the future. Natural gas is positioned as the alternative to coal to meet base load power requirements while simultaneously advancing renewable energy integration.
Separately, both NDCs consistently identify the conversion of existing fuel oil plants and the establishment of new natural gas plants as conditional measures, dependent on the availability of necessary infrastructure and external support, including financial, technological, and capacity-building assistance.
In essence, while NDC 2.0 and NDC 3.0 recognise natural gas as a crucial transitional fuel for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the power sector and phasing out coal, NDC 3.0 outlines a more ambitious expansion of natural gas capacity and incorporates a long-term vision for its future, including the potential for hydrogen blending.
The rationale provided in NDC 3.0 for increased reliance on natural gas is to provide more flexible power plants that it says can manage the significant variability inherent in renewable energy sources like solar and wind. The long-term vision, it states, is for these power plants to eventually operate on a natural gas and hydrogen blend to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
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