Climate finance to the Small Islands of the Eastern Caribbean: An overview of financial support provided from 2010 to 2015

This policy brief analyzes climate finance flows to the 10 Member States of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) from 2010 to 2015. It finds that while US$ 101 million was committed, actual disbursement rates were very low, and funding was heavily skewed toward short-term, project-based disaster response rather than long-term resilience.

• Between 2010 and 2015, total climate finance commitments to OECS Member States were US$ 101 million, which accounted for just over 9% of total aid flows to these countries. The majority of these funds began flowing in 2013, with the highest amounts allocated to Saint Lucia and Dominica.
• Climate finance for OECS countries is predominantly focused on adaptation (approximately 73%), specifically targeting disaster prevention, preparedness, reconstruction, relief, and rehabilitation. Mitigation accounted for 20%, with Grenada being the only country where mitigation commitments were the majority.
• Multilateral climate funds provided roughly 70% of the total climate finance to OECS Member States, a pattern that differs from the wider Caribbean and Pacific SIDS, which rely more on bilateral sources. The World Bank’s Climate Investment Funds were the largest single source, providing over half of the total finance.
• The delivery of climate finance is characterized by a heavy reliance on grants (68%) and short-term, project-based support. A significant portion of these projects are very small, with 17 of 34 recorded allocations being under US$ 1 million and 45% under US$ 0.1 million.
• There is a severe gap between committed climate finance and actual disbursement for OECS Member States. For Dominica, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, disbursement rates were less than 10%, which is significantly lower than the ratio for non-climate aid flows.
• Recent allocations after the 2010-2015 period include a US$ 80 million commitment from the Green Climate Fund in late 2016 for a Sustainable Energy Facility for the Eastern Caribbean, as well as a US$ 25 million PPCR approval for Grenada and a US$ 10 million Adaptation Fund grant for Antigua and Barbuda.

APA

Atteridge, A., Canales, N., & Savvidou, G. (2017). Climate finance to the Small Islands of the Eastern Caribbean: An overview of financial support provided from 2010 to 2015. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2017-PB-caribbean-finance-atteridge.pdf

Chicago

Atteridge, Aaron, Nella Canales, and Georgia Savvidou. Climate finance to the Small Islands of the Eastern Caribbean: An overview of financial support provided from 2010 to 2015. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2017. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2017-PB-caribbean-finance-atteridge.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Atteridge |first1=Aaron |last2=Canales |first2=Nella |last3=Savvidou |first3=Georgia |title=Climate finance to the Small Islands of the Eastern Caribbean: An overview of financial support provided from 2010 to 2015 |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2017 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2017-PB-caribbean-finance-atteridge.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{atteridge2017climate, author = {Atteridge, Aaron and Canales, Nella and Savvidou, Georgia}, title = {{Climate finance to the Small Islands of the Eastern Caribbean: An overview of financial support provided from 2010 to 2015}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2017}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2017-PB-caribbean-finance-atteridge.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }