The cost of energy in the Caribbean is the highest in the world, according to the Caribbean Development Bank, but governments have increasingly been pushing renewable sources of energy, like these solar-powered road on Highway 2000 in Jamaica.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – A senior official of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says the operationalising of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) provides an important opportunity for regional countries to not only adapt to climate change but also to mitigate its effects.
In addition, Selwin Hart, the Climate Change Finance Advisor with the CDB said the fund could also assist the Caribbean move towards renewable energy and energy efficiency.
“The cost of energy in the Caribbean is the highest in the world. This represents a serious strike on competitiveness, economic growth and job creation and the GCF presents a once in a lifetime opportunity for countries to have a stable source to financing to address the vulnerabilities both as it relates to importing fossil fuels as well as the impacts of climate change,” he said.
He said one of the major problems facing Caribbean countries in the past has been the lack of capacity to effectively access and use funds even when they were available.
“Many of the requirements for accessing global funds lie outside of the reach of many of the small capacity-constraint counties of the region. You have to undertake a rigorous examination in terms of fiduciary standards and social and environmental safeguards,” Hart said.
The CDB, as part of its climate resilient strategy, has been assisting countries to build that capacity. However, in some instances it is more feasible for that capacity to be built at a regional level rather than at the level of individual countries.
The bank has also been tasked by Caribbean leaders to lead the resource mobilisation effort and in this regard, the CDB is trying to position itself to serve at a regional financial intermediary.
The GCF will support projects, programmes, policies and other activities in developing countries using thematic funding windows’. It is intended to be the centre piece of efforts to raise climate finance of US$100 billion a year by 2020.
Meanwhile, the GCF for which preparations have been ongoing since 2010, has recently been finalised by its board; marking an end to a long and tedious process and giving the green light for the fund to move forward to mobilise resources.
Executive director at the GCF secretariat, Hela Cheikhrouhou, said that this is an important development which will put in place
a multilateral financing institution that is focused on providing concessional financing to both private and public sector beneficiaries in developing countries.
