BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Climate finance leaders meeting at the Caribbean Development Bank’s 56th Annual Meeting called for urgent reforms to support Small Island Developing States.
At “The Breakfast Exchange: A Climate Talk on the Global Economy,” CDB President Daniel M. Best hosted UN Special Adviser Selwin Hart, Loss and Damage Fund Director Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, and GFANZ Caribbean Chair Racquel Moses.
The message was clear: the current system is not working for the Caribbean.
Ambassador Hart said since the Paris Agreement, 80% of clean energy investment has gone to rich countries. “The system rewards those driving the crisis and penalizes those who did the least to cause it,” he stated. He urged replacing per-capita income with vulnerability as the key factor for accessing grants.
Diong said promises mean nothing without delivery. The Loss and Damage Fund, now at $820 million, will provide grant-only funding with 50% ring-fenced for SIDS and LDCs, with no new debt.
Moses highlighted a new opportunity: the global AI boom needs massive energy. “If we develop our renewable potential, the Caribbean can provide excess clean power to data centers. We must act now,” she said.
Best warned “development financing delayed is development financing denied” and stressed that CDB should serve as the region’s climate bank to simplify access.
Leaders agreed: through regional unity and faster action, the Caribbean can turn climate challenges into growth and energy leadership.
