Climate finance in the Caribbean region’s Small Island Developing States

This research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyses international public climate finance flows to Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) between 2010 and 2015. Using OECD Creditor Reporting System (CRS) data, the study examines the volume, sources, sectoral distribution, and delivery mechanisms of funds primarily targeting climate change, highlighting significant gaps between commitments and actual disbursements.

• Between 2010 and 2015, a total of US$ 1,477 million in climate finance—defined as flows principally targeting climate change—was committed to Caribbean SIDS, representing approximately 6% of all reported aid flows to the region.
• Climate finance distribution is heavily skewed by two specific donor-recipient relationships: Norway's grants to Guyana for forest protection (US$ 351 million) and France's loans to the Dominican Republic (US$ 420 million), which together account for 52% of the total committed climate finance for the region.
• The majority of climate finance (85%) originated from bilateral sources. Among multilateral sources, the World Bank's Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) were the most significant, with the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) allocating US$ 112 million.
• In terms of policy goals, approximately 48% of the finance targeted mitigation, 32% targeted adaptation, and 20% targeted both. While most countries received more for adaptation, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, and Guyana received a higher share for mitigation.
• Climate finance is predominantly project-based (77%), with 62% delivered as grants and 38% as loans. Only a small fraction (around 1%) was provided via sector budget support.
• The 'general environment protection' sector received the largest share of funding, largely due to forest protection in Guyana. Conversely, sectors critical for long-term resilience, such as health and education, received no climate finance, and agriculture received very little.
• There is a significant gap between committed and disbursed funds; only 39% of the total committed climate finance (US$ 580 million of US$ 1,477 million) was actually disbursed between 2010 and 2015. Some countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Suriname, had disbursement ratios below 10%.
• Disbursement ratios for climate finance are significantly lower than those for non-climate aid flows, which stand at 95% for the region, suggesting specific structural or execution challenges within the climate finance architecture.

APA

Atteridge, A., Canales, N., & Savvidou, G. (2017). Climate finance in the Caribbean region’s Small Island Developing States. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2017-climate-finance-caribbean.pdf

Chicago

Atteridge, Aaron, Nella Canales, and Georgia Savvidou. Climate finance in the Caribbean region’s Small Island Developing States. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2017. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2017-climate-finance-caribbean.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Atteridge |first1=Aaron |last2=Canales |first2=Nella |last3=Savvidou |first3=Georgia |title=Climate finance in the Caribbean region’s Small Island Developing States |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=September 2017 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2017-climate-finance-caribbean.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 in the Caribbean region’s Small Island Developing States}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2017-climate-finance-caribbean.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }