The partnership between the GCF and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has played a fundamental role towards addressing the vulnerabilities and the unavoidable impacts of climate change in the region. The GCF has served as a valuable mechanism to mobilize financial and technical resources to address, through a programmatic approach, the national climate change priorities of CARICOM member countries in alignment with each of the country’s GCF country Programme.

The partnership between the GCF and CARICOM came to fruition in 2015 when the first readiness project was approved for Antigua and Barbuda. Since then, a flow of climate finance has been channeled to national, regional, and international accredited entities to fulfill national and regional policies, strategies, and plans. The region has been able to access and mobilize financing from the GCF through its array of five funding modalities which includes: Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme, Simplified Approval Process (SAP), Funding Proposal, Project Preparation Facility (PPF) and Enhancing Direct Access (EDA).

Since 2017, over $US400 million of grant funding has been approved for the region via six funding proposals. In 2018, the GCF provided funds for the development of project proposals under the PPF modality by committing over $US1 million for the development of two project proposals. After the proposals are developed, they will be submitted to the GCF for financing. To date, the GCF has approved over 40 Readiness Projects across the 14 member countries with a combined contribution of over US$25 million. Currently, the countries have been in close dialogue with the GCF in an effort to mobilize funds under the different funding windows.

The partnership between the GCF and the CARICOM has not only catered to the direct mitigation and adaptation of the climate change needs of Member Countries, but it has also provided the necessary resources and tools to enhance the institutional and human capacity of the countries in the area of climate financing.