KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Seven Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are expected to benefit from the £2.7 million (One GBP=US$1.26 cents) Small Island Developing States Capacity and Resilience (SIDAR) program to help strengthen climate resilience and finance in the Caribbean.
The United Kingdom and the Belize-based Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) launched the SIDAR here on Tuesday.
The five CARICOM countries benefiting from the initiative are Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenadines, and Suriname.
The launch follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the UK and the C, totaling £2.7M in September 2023.
The SIDAR program represents delivery on the part of the UK’s overall commitment of £11.6 billion for climate finance, with a specific aim to support adaptation and resilience in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The SIDAR Caribbean program aims to augment access to climate finance and support the programmatic acceleration of climate-resilient actions in selected Caribbean countries.
The UK’s support to the CCCCC will help CARICOM member states address the challenges they face in accessing climate finance.
Non-ODA-eligible member states will be invited to participate in lesson learning and virtual training activities.
Through the CCCCC, the program will help address the barriers that Caribbean SIDS faces in planning for, accessing, and effectively utilizing climate finance.
The program aims to facilitate a sustainable increase in the flow of climate finance, enhance project development and implementation capabilities, and support simplifying the multilateral funding processes with which they must engage.
After the program’s launch, a two-day workshop will be held to enhance the capacity and expertise of representatives from member states.
“Attendees will benefit from training that emphasizes honing regional procurement strategies, improving project implementation techniques, and navigating issues about leadership and conflicts of interest.
“Moreover, the training aims to raise awareness among stakeholders regarding diverse financing mechanisms, procedures for accessing climate finance from multiple sources, and engaging in carbon markets and other related markets,” according to a statement.
It said that the CCCCC, in partnership with member states, will develop funding proposals aligned to national priorities for submission to various financial mechanisms under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other multilateral and bilateral financing partners.
“This concerted effort by the UK is expected to help the Caribbean access US$50 million for the region over the next three years,” the statement said, adding that the collaborative and strategic interventions in the program are designed to lead to sustainable change and foster a climate-resilient future for target CARICOM member states.
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