The Ministry of Climate Resilience, the Environment and Renewable Energy welcomes support from the United Kingdom (UK) Government and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) to equip more than 25 technical officers and sectoral experts to develop bankable climate projects to increase the country’s access to climate finance and improve its response to climate change.
The CCCCC delivered capacity-building training in Grenada from September 11th to 13th, 2024 at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort through the Small Island Developing States Capacity and Resilience (SIDAR) Programme for the Caribbean, which is financed through the UK Foreign Commonwealth, Development Office (UK FCDO).
The capacity building training workshop was conducted as Grenada, along with its sister islands Petite Martinique and Carriacou undergo climate-resilient recovery and rebuilding efforts following the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl.
Peron Johnson, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Resilience, the Environment and Renewable Energy delivered remarks at the workshop and welcomed the support from the UK Government and the technical assistance from CCCCC to design mitigation, adaptation, and resilience-building projects for the country.
“The Grenada CCCCCs country project management training concluded with a renewed commitment between the Government of Grenada, the CCCCC, and the UK Government, which has pledged ongoing technical assistance to support the development of bankable projects,” said Permanent Secretary Johnson. “This partnership aims to integrate the climate resilience portfolio into Grenada’s national processes, strengthening resilience across various sectors.
The workshop played a vital role in equipping government stakeholders with the knowledge and information necessary to secure financial support from major multilateral climate funding institutions, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF).
“Key stakeholders outlined actionable strategies to enhance climate adaptation, mitigation efforts, and sustainable development,” said Permanent Secretary Johnson. “The three-day training emphasized collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the need for effective workflows to ensure Grenada’s preparedness for climate-related challenges.”
Resident British Commissioner to Grenada, Mr. Victor Clarke, noted that the United Kingdom Government is also working to introduce reforms to multilateral climate funds to assist small island developing states in adapting to climate change and building their resilience.
“As co-chair of [the] Green Climate Fund (GCF) this year, the UK will also be pushing hard for reform that better meets the context for Grenada,” said the Resident British Commissioner Clarke. “Our second replenishment of the GCF ($2bn for period 2024-2027) is the biggest single climate change commitment the UK has ever made.”
The Resident British Commissioner said that the UK Government recognizes that Caribbean nations are at the frontline of the battle against climate change. He noted that the UK has committed itself to support climate action and climate financing in the Caribbean.
“This is where UK funding support for SIDAR (Small Island Developing States Capacity and Resilience) Programme through CCCCCs (Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre) fits in – providing additional key staff (two long-term experts in Grenada), training and tools to help get climate proposals and readiness requests over the line and ramp up climate finance access that is urgently needed,” said the Resident British Commissioner.
The SIDAR Caribbean capacity building workshop featured specialised training on project development, environmental and social safeguards and performance standards and gender mainstreaming and sexual exploitation, and harassment and abuse prevention for climate projects.
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