Earth Today | St Kitts, Nevis intent on enhanced climate action

WITH A focus on energy, water and food security, the government of St Kitts and Nevis recently committed to leading regional efforts to increase climate action in the Caribbean.

The undertaking was given at the closing of the Green Climate Fund (GCF)-hosted Regional Dialogue with the region under the theme, ‘Towards a Resilient Caribbean: Advancing Regional Solutions for Climate Action, Sustainable Growth and Inclusive Development’. The event was held in St Kitts and Nevis.

“The partnership with GCF is critical to support energy security resilience and the sustainability agenda in St Kitts and Nevis and the wider Caribbean region,” said Joyelle Clarke, minister of sustainable development, environment, climate action, and constituency empowerment.

“The Regional Dialogue has also facilitated regional discussions focusing on Caribbean-wide partnerships on initiatives to help the region tackle common climate change challenges in sectors that will also create new economic opportunities,” he noted in a release from the GCF.

The minister’s remarks echoed the call of Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew, at the Regional Dialogue’s launch.

“I am grateful for the continued support of our international partners and remain committed to ensuring that St Kitts and Nevis is at the forefront of the regional climate resilience movement,” the prime minister said.

GCF Executive Director (ED), Mafalda Duarte, said: “This Dialogue is about turning the ambitions and resources of the Caribbean region into historic impact by strategically targeting GCF resources to be as catalytic as possible”.

According to the ED, GCF is investing more than US$700 million to help Caribbean countries make tangible and unprecedented investments in building resilient and prosperous societies.

“Small Island Developing States face immense capacity challenges and we have the most powerful instrument – our Readiness Programme – to respond to them. We’re here to match the region’s ambition with the partnerships and resources it demands,” Duarte said.

The government of St Kitts and Nevis indicated that a major focus of scaling up regional ambitions on climate would be to explore further innovative approaches and financial instruments for increasing resilience, including through private sector-led initiatives.

This could include insurance-linked instruments, renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate-resilient infrastructure, debt-for-nature swaps, green hydrogen, performance-based grants, resilience credits and resilience bonds.

The Caribbean region’s appetite for innovative climate action was on display earlier this year when the go-ahead was given to a groundbreaking US$110 million co-funded GCF project to strengthen water and food security and protect the environment in Barbados, as part of the world’s first debt-for-climate resilience conversion.

In St Kitts and Nevis, GCF is investing US$16 million in the Geothermal Energy Facility for the Eastern Caribbean as part of the overall co-funded budget of US$192.4 million.

GCF’s regional investment portfolio continues to grow. The fund has invested US$237 million in eight climate action projects in Barbados, for a total of US$714 million in the Caribbean. Almost half of the fund’s Caribbean investments (45 per cent) are delivered via grants, which support country-led action in the region that does not add to debt burdens.