DUBAI – Three Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are among the first nine eligible projects that will be part of the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) CLIMA, an innovative financial approach that rewards for achieving nature and climate objectives.
The Washington-based financial institution said that the reward is provided in the form of a grant, in the amount of five per cent of the IDB loan principal.
The three CARICOM countries named are Barbados, Belize and Suriname. The other countries are Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay and Uruguay.
“IDB CLIMA’s goal is to help countries access green and thematic debt markets to mobilize capital for climate and nature investments at a larger scale. IDB CLIMA will initially fund 10 pilot projects, with a total lending envelope of one billion US dollars,” the IDB said, adding that the complete list of projects and participating countries will be announced at the IDB’s Annual Meeting in March 2024.
“Demand has been superior to what we expected, and our teams are already working with our partners in the region to deploy these first pilot projects. We welcome this opportunity to showcase how IDB CLIMA can support our full range of borrowers in meeting their national climate and nature commitments,” said IDB President Ilan Goldfajn at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28).
The IDB said that to be eligible for the reward, borrowers must meet three Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are designed to help them fully benefit from green and thematic debt markets.
“These are related to setting ambitious environmental targets, identifying the proper policies and expenditures to meet these targets, and being able to measure and report on their progress in a timely manner,” it added.
