The Asia LEDS Partnership Secretariat, co-hosted by ICLEI South Asia, worked with the Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation, Government of Sri Lanka, and provided technical assistance to prepare a Framework for Electric Mobility Policy in Sri Lanka. A second consultation workshop was conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation on the 11th of October 2019 in Colombo to discuss the Draft Framework.

The ALP Secretariat is hosted by ICLEI South Asia in partnership with ICLEI South East Asia and ICLEI East Asia. This particular initiative is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The workshop was attended by Additional Secretary, Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation, Government of Sri Lanka, and Chairman, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority. There were also project directors and senior officials from other ministries and government organisations such as the Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation, Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment, and the National Transport Commission, besides the Department of National Planning, Sri Lanka Transport Board, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority and Railway Board, in addition to Sri Lanka Police and Department of Motor Traffic.

The Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA (NREL) also provided technical inputs to the draft framework, in their role as co-chair and members of the Transport Working Group of the LEDS Global Partnership. Working groups of the LEDS Global Partnership work in tandem with the regional secretariats to deliver technical assistance and encourage peer-learning among members to enhance and accelerate implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

ALP presented the ‘Draft Framework on Electric Mobility in Sri Lanka,’ which has been developed as a guidance document with a set of procedures to be undertaken while drafting the policy. The framework has been developed to help Sri Lanka define and design its future electric mobility programmes. It highlights important aspects such as manufacturing & import, charging infrastructure, technology and policy and regulations, besides institutional capacity and incentives and subsidies, and outlines key considerations. It also discusses the possible sources of funding that may be explored by the government of Sri Lanka, the anticipated risks and their solutions along with key takeaways.

Experts from various organisations agreed that there was a need to develop a framework for electric vehicles, along with encouraging the use of shared public transport, improving last mile-connectivity, encouraging the development of supporting infrastructure and organising awareness and capacity building sessions for stakeholders. The feedback and suggestions provided during the discussion are being integrated in the final framework.