Influencing Green: Climate Change, State Policy and Civil Society

Abstract: Climate change endangers the security of humans, economies, ecosystems and societies, and has become one of the biggest problems faced by mankind over the last two decades. National governments, civil society and the private sector are working together to formulate policies and take actions to adapt and mitigate to the impacts of climate change. In Sri Lanka, an island vulnerable to climate change, civil society has been included in several government policies for climate change adaptation. However, indexes show that the role of civil society has been obstructed due to an undemocratic government structures and control. Accordingly, this paper investigates to what extent civil society influences climate adaptation policy in Sri Lanka. It further explores the role played by civil society, what factors and strategies help civil society and what factors act as a barrier for influence. Using the theories of social movements and politics of infiltration, this qualitative study focuses on NGOs and green movements and uses online questionnaires, in-depth interviews and documents to gather data. The findings show that the role of civil society to influence policy is limited in Sri Lanka, due to corruption and lack of political interest although factors such as networking and collaboratively working with the government can help to a certain extent. The findings aim to add to the gap in research and literature on this topic and help in future climate policy making in Sri Lanka.