IDB Invest is partnering with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to launch the Caribbean Net-Zero and Resilient Private Sector Programme, which aims to drive greenhouse gas emission reductions and climate-resilient private sector investment towards the Caribbean region.

The GCF approved up to US$118.9 million in blended concessional and technical assistance funding to implement the program.

The new programme will help to accelerate private sector investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation projects in the Caribbean.

Participating countries are namely The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Caribbean is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

As economies dependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries, the Caribbean is expected to be disproportionately affected by the projected sea level rise, increased hurricane intensity and changes in rainfall patterns.

Despite the Caribbean’s strong commitment to climate mitigation and adaptation action, the region faces a significant financing gap for climate change projects.

“The Caribbean region remains at the heart of IDB Invest’s priorities, which is why I am very pleased that we have received approval from the GCF to launch this program to support the Caribbean private sector in its efforts to adapt to climate change and reduce emissions,” said James Scriven, CEO of IDB Invest. “Few regions in the world are more vulnerable to climate change-induced natural disasters such as hurricanes than the Caribbean, so this programme comes at just the right time.”

The programme aims to reduce barriers to increasing private sector investment in climate change projects by providing targeted technical assistance funding and targeted blended finance solutions to bring climate change projects to the frontier of commercial viability.

The programme’s five priority sectors include sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure; renewable electricity generation and energy efficiency; sustainable transport, sustainable agriculture and forestry and the blue economy. 

“In the Caribbean and around the world, our climate goals depend on the private and public sectors working together. The Green Climate Fund is proud to partner with the region and IDB Invest to mobilize more private investment for innovative projects with commercial potential in countries bearing disproportionate climate impacts,” said Mafalda Duarte, executive director of the Green Climate Fund.