The creation of a platform to accelerate the mobilisation of finance for the boosting of resilience across the Caribbean region was announced on Monday, June 16, 2025.
The landmark Regional Platform for catalysing Resilience and Climate Action in the Caribbean aims to identify and deliver country-focused game-changing investment opportunities while enhancing a regional approach to resilience building in the era of a climate crisis.
This first ever regional Resilience investment platform was convened under the stewardship of Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados and Chair of CARICOM.
Prime Minister Mottley said: “For too long, the Caribbean has been sounding the alarm and calling for greater action to build the resilience of our people and to protect us and our countries from the impacts of the climate crisis.
“Today, we take another step in this regard, with the launch of the Regional Platform for Catalyzing Resilience and Climate Action. This is our bold collective response to mobilise the scale of finance we truly need to develop projects and boost our capacity. We must not invest in band-aids for the moment, but in game-changing, future-defining solutions to this challenge that confronts us all.
“As Prime Minister of Barbados and Chair of CARICOM, I am proud that Barbados, alongside our fellow CARICOM nations and global partners, have committed to this effort to pool our efforts to confront common challenges and to cooperate in the strengthening of our resilience. With one voice, we are saying clearly that the Caribbean will not wait, for the moment demands urgency. We will lead. We will innovate. And we will act together.”
Seven governments have initially committed – Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago have submitted Letters of Support for their participation in the Regional Platform. Others are expected to join in the near future.
Mafalda Duarte, Executive Director, Green Climate Fund, said: “I congratulate Caribbean countries on the launch of this pioneering regional climate change programme. This first-of-its-kind platform is a powerful example of leadership. It reflects a clear vision to turn untapped regional assets such as renewable energy as well as connectivity challenges into a strategic investment program that can ensure energy, water and food security in the region and beyond, helping others meet their climate goals.
“The Green Climate Fund is proud to support this effort through our flagship Readiness Programme, the largest instrument of its kind for helping countries make institutional arrangements, undertake relevant technical work and structure strategic investment programs that can align and unlock finance at scale.”
The platform aims to deliver a more programmatic, regionally led model for resilience building and climate action. It aims to mobilise greater public and private sector investment and strengthen coordination in key areas, such as sustainable energy transition, enhanced regional connectivity through resilient transport and related infrastructure, the development of innovative financial instruments that do not increase debt burdens but absorbs excess liquidity, and enhancing our water and food security. The participating governments will also seek to better align their educational systems and the resolution of their demographic deficit with the goal of building a common resilience in the Caribbean.
The platform is set to have a Regional Steering Committee, a Secretariat housed in the Caribbean Development Bank, and technical working groups, financial institutions, and support partner networks composed of experts and representatives of partner organisations.
GCF’s Readiness Programme provides grants of up to $7 million per developing country over four years. The launch countries for the Caribbean platform are committing to use some of their GCF readiness allocations to fund the platform.