Caribbean countries launch landmark platform to scale up climate investment

The creation of a platform to accelerate the mobilisation of finance for the boosting of resilience across the Caribbean region was announced today.   The landmark Regional Platform for catalyzing Resilience and Climate Action in the Caribbean aims to identify and deliver country-focused game-changing investment opportunities while enhancing a regional approach to resilience building in the era of a climate crisis. This first ever regional Resilience investment platform was convened under the stewardship of Her Excellency Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados and Chair of CARICOM. Prime Minister Mottley…

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Pioneering Barbados water project kick starts

The Green Climate Fund and the Government of Barbados recently announced that a groundbreaking project that leverages an innovative financing model to scale up climate action and simultaneously avoid increasing the burden of public debt is all set to begin implementation. The pioneering project, with huge positive implications for climate resilience in the region, was today greenlighted for its first injection of GCF finance. The USD 110 million Barbados Climate Resilient South Coast Water Reclamation Project financed jointly by GCF (Green Climate Fund) and the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) is…

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GCF approves USD 686 million for climate action and decides to establish regional presence

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) at its Board meeting this week provided further evidence that it is increasing access to and support for national and regional partners operating on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The Fund’s Board approved USD 686.8 million (USD 1.5 billion with co-financing) in GCF investment for 11 projects in 42 countries that are expected to provide direct support to 115.5 million people and mitigate the equivalent of 45.3 million metric tonnes of CO₂. The new projects include first-time single-country investments in Serbia to enhance forest…

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Barbados launches the world’s first debt-for-climate-resilience conversion

Barbados has successfully completed an unprecedented debt-for-climate operation to finance water and sewage projects resilient to climate change. Through support from its international funding partners, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Barbados replaced outstanding, more expensive debt with more affordable financing, generating USD 125 million in fiscal savings, which will be used to enhance water resource management and increase water and food security. CIBC Caribbean, as lead arranger, successfully closed the Sustainability Linked Loan transaction last week. The loan was backed by USD 300 million in guarantees – USD 150…

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Forests get a boost from new GCF policy on REDD+ results-based payments

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) recently adopted a landmark policy on REDD+ results-based payments, a major boon for forest finance. The decision was made at the 40th meeting of the GCF Board. REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) is based on the principle that developing countries which reduce their emissions from deforestation and forest degradation can receive financial compensation, known as results-based payments. This is a highly efficient way of financing emissions reductions, as payment is made for verified emissions reductions. In addition, REDD+ results-based payments deliver a…

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