US$33M plugged into regional climate change infrastructure
Guyana will be among 11 Caribbean countries to benefit from a multimillion-dollar agreement that will see funds being made available to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation projects in the Region.
CDB Vice President (Operations) Patricia McKenzie and French Ambassador to the OECS and Barbados, Eric de la Moussaye sign the Credit Facility Agreement. Looking on is Legal Counsel at the CDB, Dave Waithe
This was the realisation of an agreement signed between officials from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to provide some US$33 million towards financing sustainable infrastructure projects in the Caribbean. At least half of the funds is expected to be injected into the projects.
The agreement was signed last month at the CDB Headquarters in Barbados, by French Ambassador to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Barbados, Eric de la Moussaye, in the presence of CDB Vice President (Operations) Patricia McKenzie.
“Caribbean countries are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with our geographical location leading to high exposure to natural hazards. Economic conditions also play a role, as there is a lack of access to long-term resources to finance sustainable climate-related infrastructure projects. We believe that these additional funds will go a long way towards building resilience and mitigating the impact of climate change in our Region,” McKenzie said.
The funds are being provided by AFD under a Credit Facility Agreement with CDB. AFD is the primary agency through which the Government of France provides funding for sustainable development projects. This marks the first time that the CDB has accessed financing from AFD.
The Facility will be used by the CDB to augment financing for infrastructure projects in several areas: renewable energy, water and sanitation, waste management, adaptation of infrastructure to the effects of climate change, and protection of coasts and rivers.
Countries that are eligible to benefit from this Facility are: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.
The Facility is also complemented by a €3,000,000 technical assistance grant, which will finance feasibility studies for projects eligible for financing.
The agreement supports the improvement of Caribbean economies’ resilience and vitality through the development of sustainable infrastructure projects with significant environmental or climate impacts. It is in alignment with the Bank’s corporate priority of promoting environmental sustainability.
