Country Financing Roadmap for the SDGs: Saint Lucia

The report identifies six systemic barriers to SDG financing in Saint Lucia, including climate vulnerability and high debt, and proposes nine solutions across foundational, economic resilience, and low-carbon competitiveness categories. It highlights near-term momentum in labour reskilling and renewable energy, while advocating for regional cooperation among Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to attract larger private investments.

• Saint Lucia faces six primary barriers to mobilizing SDG financing: vulnerability to climate change, natural disasters and external shocks; low economic resilience; limited access to concessional finance; debt burden; unrealized regional potential; and over-reliance on imports.
• The country's status as an upper-middle-income country restricts its access to concessional financing from bilateral agencies and multilateral organizations, despite its inherent vulnerabilities as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS).
• Saint Lucia's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, which contributed more than 40% of GDP since 2014 and accounted for nearly 80% of the labour market in 2019, leaving it highly susceptible to international travel shocks.
• The national debt-to-GDP ratio reached a record 86.5% in 2020, driven by the need to borrow for reconstruction after natural disasters and increased expenditures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
• A proposed labour reskilling initiative, involving a partnership between the European Commission and Forte, aims to train 500–600 people in hospitality, digital, and green/blue economy skills by the end of 2022 at no upfront cost to the government.
• The National Energy Transition Strategy (NETS) recommends a portfolio of utility-owned solar, distributed solar, wind, and diesel with energy storage, requiring an estimated 20-year incremental capital cost of 630 million Eastern Caribbean dollars (approximately $233 million).
• The Caribbean Climate Smart Fund (CCSF) has identified a regional clean energy investment pipeline of approximately $1 billion, with $80 million specifically targeting solar, battery storage, and wind projects in Saint Lucia.
• The report proposes nine solutions to improve SDG financing, categorized into foundational solutions (finance mobilization team, investment data systems, digitalization), economic resilience (labour reskilling, Blue Recovery Hub, regional infrastructure fund), and low-carbon competitiveness (energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport).
• Regional integration within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is underutilized, with only 20% of Saint Lucia's exports going to other OECS countries compared to 65% going to the United States.

APA

World Economic Forum (2021). Country Financing Roadmap for the SDGs: Saint Lucia. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Country_Financing_Roadmap_for_the_SDGs_Saint_Lucia_2021.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Country Financing Roadmap for the SDGs: Saint Lucia. 2021. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Country_Financing_Roadmap_for_the_SDGs_Saint_Lucia_2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Country Financing Roadmap for the SDGs: Saint Lucia |date=December 2021 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Country_Financing_Roadmap_for_the_SDGs_Saint_Lucia_2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2021country, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Country Financing Roadmap for the SDGs: Saint Lucia}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Country_Financing_Roadmap_for_the_SDGs_Saint_Lucia_2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }