Global trade tensions are causing uncertainty for Sri Lankan businesses. Exporters are grappling with not only the likelihood of higher taxes, but perhaps more crucially, the uncertainties around them. CSF is studying the effects of trade policy uncertainty on export-oriented businesses in Sri Lanka (with a focus on US tariff changes), and are conducting this brief survey to understand how business are navigating and coping with the changes. Findings from the research will also help businesses, trade chambers, and the government, understand the impacts better, and inform public-private dialogue around solutions. 

2024 was the warmest year on record. A recent report by the World Bank revealed that Sri Lanka is among a few South Asian countries identified with a temperature level that is considered too hot for people to be able to work safely outdoors for an average of six hours a day. When compared with other Asian cities, Colombo has made little or no effort to mitigate this overheating threat at a planning level. We highlight in this policy brief the impacts of heat stress on outdoor workers in the city and pathways for addressing climate change in Colombo that need to be acted on.