CARICOM Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett has called for urgent action to turn the Caribbean’s climate resilience, renewable energy and transportation ambitions into tangible development projects, warning that financing constraints, rising climate risks and mounting debt continue to threaten the Region’s development priorities.
Barnett made the call on Tuesday, November 10, while addressing a high-level event at the CARICOM Pavilion during the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) in Türkiye.
The event, held under the theme “From Ambition to Implementation,” focused on financing the Caribbean’s climate, energy and transport transformation.
Barnett said CARICOM member states had already developed strategies, policies and programmes to address these priorities, but the challenge was ensuring that proposed projects moved beyond planning and became reality.
“Across CARICOM, we have articulated clear aspirations for climate resilience, sustainable energy systems, and modern transport networks. We have developed strategies, policies and programmes to support these objectives. The task that remains before us is to effectively implement and ensure that transformative projects move from concept to reality,” she said.
She stressed that the urgency was heightened by the Region’s exposure to increasingly severe storms, flooding, droughts and rising sea levels. These threats, she noted, were not merely environmental concerns but direct challenges to economic and social development.
“For us, climate resilience is not simply an environmental priority; it is a development imperative as we strive to adapt to changes that are occurring, even as the cost of such adaptation increases and as climate events erode development gains.”
Energy transition and regional transport challenges
The Secretary-General highlighted efforts by CARICOM member states to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels through investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and cleaner technologies.
She pointed to geothermal developments in Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis as flagship examples of the Region’s energy transition, while noting that investments in solar, wind and hydroelectric power were also continuing across member states.
Barnett acknowledged that countries were pursuing different energy pathways based on their individual circumstances, but said the broader objectives remained energy security, reduced import dependence and improved economic competitiveness.
She also emphasised the importance of modernising the Caribbean’s transportation systems, describing reliable and sustainable transport networks as essential to moving people and goods and supporting regional integration, trade, tourism and food security.
As Small Island and Low-lying Coastal Developing States, Caribbean countries face particular challenges in strengthening transport infrastructure and logistics networks while protecting them against climate-related hazards.
Barnett warned that the combination of rising climate risks and increasing financing costs was placing additional pressure on governments seeking to modernise their infrastructure.
She described a recurring debt burden in which countries borrow to build infrastructure, only to face further borrowing when climate events damage those investments before the original loans have been repaid.
“We are also caught in a cycle of increasing debt as we obtain loans to finance infrastructure projects, which are then impacted by climate risks before they are paid off and more debt is required to repair or rebuild. And the cycle goes on.”
CARICOM calls for innovative financing
Barnett said the scale of investment required for climate resilience, energy transformation and transport modernisation exceeds the financial resources available to many member states, particularly as governments seek to maintain debt-to-GDP ratios within limits established by international financial institutions and private capital markets.
She argued that strong project preparation and implementation capacity, while necessary, would not be sufficient without new financing arrangements and closer cooperation among governments, development finance institutions, climate funds, development partners and private investors.
She identified the proposed Regional Investment Platform as an important mechanism for helping bridge the gap between policy commitments and actual project delivery.
The platform is intended to strengthen the pipeline of bankable projects and help mobilise financing by supporting the identification, preparation and funding of transformative investments.
Its proposed Climate Investment and Financing Strategy is also expected to guide member states in leveraging public and private capital, improving project bankability and attracting investment for climate and sustainable development initiatives.
Barnett said the Caribbean must build on its experience with regional partnerships and innovative financing approaches to accelerate the delivery of projects on a larger scale.
“We must now build on these experiences and create the conditions that enable the delivery of climate, energy and transport investments at greater scale and with greater speed.”
She reaffirmed CARICOM’s commitment to working with regional and international partners to strengthen climate resilience, advance sustainable development, improve energy security and enhance connectivity across the Community.
The Secretary-General said the discussions at COP31 should produce practical recommendations for mobilising financing and accelerating investment, particularly as Caribbean states confront increasing climate-related risks.
She said the Region’s priorities include building resilience, advancing the energy transition to strengthen energy security and modernising transport systems to expand markets and improve regional connectivity.
Her remarks underscore a central challenge facing the Caribbean: translating climate and development commitments into funded, implementable projects while avoiding further debt pressures and protecting economies and communities from the growing costs of climate change.
