The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) approved US$226.7 million for climate action initiatives in 2025, marking the strongest annual climate investment performance in the bank’s history.

The record-breaking total was approximately 50 per cent of the bank’s total project approvals for the year and represented an increase of more than 100 per cent compared to the US$101.5 million committed in 2024.

The surge was driven by a US$125 million environmental policy-based loan (PBL) disbursed to Guyana, and by similar financing packages totalling US$30 million each to Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The PBLs will support reforms in biodiversity conservation, climate action and water resource management, among other areas. The financing will also build the technical and financial capacity of the member countries to withstand and recover from climate shocks.

Valerie Isaac, CDB’s division chief of environmental sustainability, said, “The climate crisis is not simply a challenge. It is an existential threat to our development and wellbeing, particularly the most vulnerable people.”

Speaking at the bank’s annual news conference, held on March 3, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Isaac explained that, “Resilience is neither an option nor a luxury. It is a fundamental requirement for regional growth and stability.”

Beyond its own approvals, in 2025, CDB also secured US$27 million in grant and loan financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the Integrated Utility Services Programme, which has a total investment volume of over US$68 million and will scale up energy efficiency and distributed renewable energy, including rooftop solar, across Barbados, Belize and Jamaica.

Additionally, a further US$27 million in GCF grant resources will fund the Caribbean Hydrometeorological and Multi-Hazard Early Warning Services Project, which will upgrade critical forecasting systems in Belize and Trinidad and Tobago to protect the lives and livelihoods of 1.8 million people.

The operationalisation of the CDB’s Climate Change Project Preparation Fund marked another major milestone in the bank’s climate intervention efforts in 2025. Specifically designed to remove pipeline bottlenecks that impede the flow of climate capital, the fund will help increase financing for climate action projects in CDB’s borrowing member countries.

The environmental sustainability division chief also signalled that CDB will accelerate its climate momentum in 2026. Key priorities include finalising a US$200 million regional blue economy programme to protect ocean resources while generating new jobs in the marine sector.

The bank will also launch a flagship regional platform designed to generate actionable investment portfolios from national energy and transport priorities. The institution will also drive initiatives to support water sector resilience and advance locally led adaptation to climate change.

“The decisions and actions we take today will dictate the Caribbean’s development trajectory for the next half-century,” Isaac explained. “We will continue to innovate and transform, strengthen our own capacity and that of our borrowing member countries, accelerate the development of investment-ready pipelines, mobilise climate and disaster finance at scale, deepen strategic partnerships, and advance coordinated regional climate action.”