The Caribbean is among the world’s most vulnerable areas to climate change. While this year’s hurricane season has been relatively quiet, farmers, fishers and the region’s tourism operators live under the constant threat that the next storm that might destroy a year’s worth of work. Moreover, the more gradual threat of sea level rise will require a range of actions in order to protect livelihoods and communities.
This is why the MIF’s PROADAPT and the IDB’s Climate Change team have partnered to present three private-sector focused projects in Haiti, Jamaica and Saint Lucia that will leverage the resources of the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR).
The proposed projects focus on supporting Jamaican housing developers and construction companies to deliver better storm water management and climate resilient housing; supporting climate resilient investments in the agricultural sector in Saint Lucia; and building climate resilience into the sorghum supply chain of the brewery Brasserie Nationale d’Haiti (BRANA).
The PPCR is one of the Climate Investment Funds, a multilateral source of climate funding for clean energy, sustainable forestry and climate resilience that can be used in multilateral development banks such as the IDB. In addition, the MIF will provide technical assistance through its PROADAPT grant program to these three projects amounting to US$ 14.85 million.
It is great to see the multilateral organizations pulling in the same direction when it comes to supporting the private sector, as we saw at a recent workshop organized by the World Bank on strengthening the business case on climate resilience. The MIF participated on an expert panel at that workshop, and the International Finance Corporation, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, and both donor and recipient countries were in attendance. Among the several topics discussed were the barriers facing private sector efforts in adaptation, the creation of business opportunities related to resilience, and policy prescriptions to overcome current barriers.
Foto: Fishermen in Barbados.