The Caribbean has long been acknowledged as among the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, and the reality of that vulnerability is becoming increasingly clear with disasters experienced from each new hurricane, landslide, drought and other natural hazard. The global community has also long agreed that the cost of mitigating and adapting to these impacts should be largely borne by the wealthy, long-industrialised countries that have contributed most to the problem.
Hurricane impacts in Barbuda, 2017. Credit: AFP.
That agreement formed the basis for the evolution of the international climate finance architecture that includes instruments such as the Adaptation Fund, the Green Climate Fund, multiple grant and loan funds managed by the international banks, and climate-specific funds financed by individual development partners. Despite its vulnerability and global commitments of support, the region’s success in accessing these funds has been frustratingly limited.
(…) Donor countries and their international partners have tended to deflect criticism regarding their failure to meet their commitments or address the well-documented hurdles countries face in gaining access to climate finance. Instead, they have offered various forms of guidance and technical support to help countries build their capacity to overcome those hurdles. Among recent proposed measures is the establishment of Climate Finance Units (CFUs) to centralise required responsibilities, tasks and capacities.