Catalyzing Low-carbon Investment and Mobilizing Finance for Saint Lucia (CLIMB-SLU)

The 'Catalyzing Low-carbon Investment and Mobilizing Finance for Saint Lucia (CLIMB-SLU)' proposal requests USD 1,631,349 over 36 months to address critical gaps in Saint Lucia's climate finance ecosystem. The initiative focuses on three workstreams: strengthening government capacity to integrate climate and gender considerations into financial planning, enhancing the ability of local financial institutions to manage climate risks and offer green products, and developing a pipeline of bankable projects, specifically a Green Affordable Housing project and a conceptual Green-Blue National Bank. The project is implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in coordination with Saint Lucia's Department of Economic Development, Department of Finance, and Department of Sustainable Development.

• Saint Lucia faces severe economic risks from climate change, with the National Adaptation Plan estimating that failure to address these issues could cost the country 24.5% of its GDP by 2025 or 49.1% by 2100.
• There is a significant funding gap for climate objectives; meeting Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) plans is estimated to cost USD 368 million, with the government aiming for the private sector to provide 90% of this investment.
• The local financial sector is highly exposed to climate risks, as it owns approximately 72% of existing physical capital investment in climate-sensitive sectors like tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure.
• Local financial institutions (LFIs) lack the capacity to manage climate risk; a survey of the Bankers Association of Saint Lucia found that no FI in the country reviews its portfolio's exposure to climate-related risks.
• The Government of Saint Lucia lacks the technical systems to track climate-aligned spending, which hinders the design of sustainable debt instruments and the identification of eligible project pipelines.
• The proposal includes the design of a 'Green-Blue National Bank' to act as a second-tier bank that accesses international climate finance and distributes it via financial intermediaries to crowd in private investment.
• A priority project for the readiness support is the 'Green Affordable Housing project', addressing a shortfall of 11,000 to 14,000 homes and focusing on relocating settlements from vulnerable coastal areas.
• The initiative aims to improve gender-responsive finance by developing a climate and gender budget tagging system and conducting assessments of financial inclusion for male and female business owners.
• The project will support the issuance and post-issuance of a Blue Bond, including securing a Second Party Opinion and delivering an Impact Report.
• The program intends to scale sustainable banking practices regionally by conceptualizing an Eastern Caribbean Sustainable Banking Roundtable in coordination with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).

APA

Green Climate Fund (2024). Catalyzing Low-carbon Investment and Mobilizing Finance for Saint Lucia (CLIMB-SLU). https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/20240229-readiness-saint-lucia-gggi.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Catalyzing Low-carbon Investment and Mobilizing Finance for Saint Lucia (CLIMB-SLU). 2024. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/20240229-readiness-saint-lucia-gggi.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Catalyzing Low-carbon Investment and Mobilizing Finance for Saint Lucia (CLIMB-SLU) |date=29 February 2024 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/20240229-readiness-saint-lucia-gggi.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2024catalyzing, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Catalyzing Low-carbon Investment and Mobilizing Finance for Saint Lucia (CLIMB-SLU)}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/20240229-readiness-saint-lucia-gggi.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }