Caribbean solutions to boost the green agenda

The Institution also called for multilateral organizations to work more closely to mobilize the necessary investments for adaptation and mitigation of global warming.

During the events in Bahamas, Carolina España, Executive Vice President at CAF, said that "Multilateral banks play a fundamental role in identifying main development challenges and opportunities, and mobilizing international financial resources,"

"In 2021, CAF made a commitment to make 40 percent of its operation green by 2026," emphasized España. “This dedication underlines CAF's efforts to champion energy transition, natural ecosystem conservation, and allocating $1.25 billion for projects that foster environmental preservation. Further on, it is necessary to listen to the region because Latin America and the Caribbean countries have contributed in a very limited way to climate change. But today, they are presented as part of the solution."

Philip Brave Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, stressed the importance of mobilizing trillions of dollars, asserting that "We need to reform the international financial architecture, including private finance flows and multilateral development."

"The clock is ticking, my friends," said the Prime Minister, emphasizing the urgent need to act on climate finance at the Climate Finance in the Americas Meeting and the IV Inter-American Meeting of Ministers for Sustainable Development in The Bahamas . The Prime Minister remarked, "We cannot achieve our climate goals without significant investment, especially in developing nations." Davis underscored the importance of reforming the international financial architecture and channeling funds for building resilience against the devastating effects of climate change.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro stressed that collective action by the region is crucial to address the challenges of climate change and move towards sustainable development.

CAF and the Caribbean, an ambitious agenda

CAF has been expanding its presence in the Caribbean to promote its vision on regional integration that has driven the institution for more than 50 years. “This new approach reflects CAF’s commitment to providing access to increased development financing and incorporating more Caribbean countries as shareholders, which will translate into greater technical and financial support for green projects and economic recovery” asserted Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Regional Manager for the Caribbean.  CAF also updated its logo and trademark to include ‘and the Caribbean’ in its official name, now CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

This positioning in the Caribbean will give a new dimension to an institution created by six Andean countries (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela) that, just over fifty years later, has 21 shareholder countries and more than of 200 billion dollars in development projects.

The first step in strengthening CAF’s engagement with the Caribbean took place in late 2022 with the creation of the Caribbean Regional Management Office, based in Trinidad and Tobago, to promote green growth, the preservation of biodiversity, sustainable tourism, the modernization of infrastructure and financial stability, among others.