US plugs US$100M into climate, energy and humanitarian assistance for Caribbean

The United States Government has announced more than US$100 million in funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to address climate, energy, food security, and humanitarian assistance in the Caribbean.

This announcement was made by US Vice President Kamala Harris in the Bahamas, where she met with several Caribbean leaders on Thursday morning.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali, who is leading the region’s food security agenda, was among the Heads of State present in Nassau for the engagement with the US Vice President. He was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud, and Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper.
Thursday’s meeting was co-chaired by VP Harris and Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Philip Davis, current chair of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). It was aimed at building on Vice President Harris’s previous engagement with the Caribbean leaders in June 2022 at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
The over US$100 million assistance includes US$98 million in new funding from USAID. According to a statement from USAID, it will be injecting US$20 million to support the Caribbean’s transition to renewable energy and increased energy efficiency. This funding will go to companies with financial and technical assistance and business development services through the Caribbean Climate Investment Program.
The agency said the programming would also support establishment of the Blue-Green Investment Corporation, in partnership with the Government of Barbados, the Green Climate Fund, and Private Sector investors. With an estimated initial capital of $30 million from non-U.S. Government partners, this public-private ‘green bank’ is expected to unlock up to $210 million over three years to finance projects such as climate resilient housing, renewable energy, clean transportation, and water conservation firstly in Barbados, and later expanding to other Caribbean countries, including those in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.
Another US$15 million will go towards supporting disaster risk reduction, emergency response capacity strengthening, and resilience building across the Caribbean. This funding will bring the total investment by USAID in disaster risk reduction and resilience building in the region to over US$80 million over the past five years.
Vice President Harris has also announced support for the Caribbean island-states’ response to the impacts of climate change. USAID is providing US$1.5 million to the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre to increase the flow of international climate funding and help strengthen key data tools for decision-making for Caricom countries.
The Agency is also providing US$1 million to partner with the Caribbean islands’ Higher Education Resilience Consortium and Northeastern University to help mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, including the risks associated with extreme weather events. This work would also pursue economic development opportunities associated with building a resilient blue and green economy.
Financial assistance announced for the Caribbean on Thursday also includes funding for Haiti. Working with Congress, USAID will be providing US$10.5 million to Haiti to enhance resilience and productivity in the country’s agricultural and livestock sectors. Through market strengthening, research and innovation, this funding will increase market system efficiency, Private Sector engagement, and the ability of households and communities to recover from shocks and stresses.
These programmes, according to the Agency, will collectively contribute to increased resilience, sustainable agriculture, and improved food security in Haiti.
In addition, USAID is injecting another US$54 million for the people of Haiti, in response to the country’s humanitarian crisis. Haiti’s alarming levels of gang violence, including attacks on civilians, have prevented people from accessing critical food, safe drinking water, and other basic supplies. This new funding would provide vulnerable Haitians with urgently needed humanitarian assistance, including vital food assistance, as 4.9 million people face acute food insecurity amid the crisis.
In addition, these funds would provide access to safe drinking water and health care, as well as supportive care for survivors of gender-based violence and other protection services for the most vulnerable. This brings USAID’s total FY 2023 funding for humanitarian response activities in Haiti to more than US$110 million.
Haiti continues to be battered by natural disasters. The country experienced a massive flood last weekend that has displaced over 13,000 and killed more than 50 Haitians. Then, earlier this week, a 4.9-magnitude earthquake struck the country, killing at least three other persons.
The United States Government has committed to continue partnering with the Caribbean to provide urgent humanitarian assistance, facilitate climate adaptation and resilience, support the transition to renewable energy, and mitigate food insecurity in the region.
USAID’s climate work in the Caribbean supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities, and works to advance the goals of the US-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis 2030 (PACC 2030), of which USAID is a key partner.
PACC 2030 is the U.S. Government’s flagship partnership with the Caribbean to advance climate adaptation and resilience, and clean energy cooperation through 2030 as work continues toward meeting the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).