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THE CARIBBEAN NDC The Caribbean NDCFI has been designed as a regional
FINANCE INITIATIVE open platform welcoming active engagement
(“plug-n’-play”) and contributions from interested countries,
development partners, development banks and private and
A review of the initial Nationally Determined Contributions financial sector stakeholders. As financing for the NDCFI
of Caribbean shows that sustainable energy projects still under development, the initiative will start with efforts
dominate the proposed actions. However, it has been to get a small number of pilot projects to Financial Close.
recognized that without financial assistance the region will This is expected to attract additional funding, allow
not be able to deliver on these ambitious yet necessary addressing key bottlenecks in exemplary pilots and set the
objectives. A regional vehicle to advance and accelerate stage for gradual expansion of the initiative. The ultimate
the implementation of NDCs, termed the Caribbean NDC goal is for the NDCFI is to grow into a larger operation with
Finance Initiative (NDCFI) was launched in 2017. The the capacity to screen all potential infrastructure projects
Caribbean NDCFI is a joint initiative being led by some key eligible for support. The second Investment Forum under
partners including the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean the NDCFI is planned for March 2020 and development
States Commission, the Government of Saint Lucia and the partners and Caribbean Governments are working towards
United Nations Convention on Climate Change. The highlighting some successful energy, water and other
initiative is implemented under the auspices of the NDC infrastructural projects under this initiative.
Partnership and to date has received strong support from
some other development partners such as the Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ (BVC THE WAY FORWARD
,2018). The NDCFI aims to support participatory As the energy sector worldwide undergoes a paradigm
engagement processes and regional fora that seek to shift, new and innovative measures must be adopted to
catalyze investments in resilient and low-carbon support the sustainable energy vision. Partnerships and
infrastructure across priority sectors as identified in the synergies are a vital part of the needed strategy. Financing
NDCs submitted by OECS Member States. The NDCFI not for sustainable energy, needs to be an integral part of the
only seeks to match financing to projects but it also solution. Capitalizing on the resources mobilized to address
provides support the technical elements in the early stages climate change could be an underutilized strategy for the
ofdeveloping bankable projects, as well as access to region. Sustainable energy makes sense for the Caribbean
finance. Capacity-building and matchmaking services are and the transition away from fossil fuels will support both
made available to infrastructure projects including climate and economic resilience. It is therefore logical that
sustainable energy projects that advance and accelerate the financing for climate change can be successfully used
the implementation of the region’s NDCs. to support the sustainable energy goals.

References
Business View Caribbean (BVC) 2018, FIRST REGIONAL INVESTMENT FORUM ON MEETING PARIS CLIMATE TARGETS
TO BE HELD IN ST. LUCIA
https://businessviewcaribbean.com/first-regional-investment-forum-meeting-paris-climate-targets-held-st-lucia/
Green Climate Fund (GCF), 2019, ABOUT THE FUND
https://www.greenclimate.fund/who-we-are/about-the-fund
Green Climate Fund (GCF), 2017, The Green Climate Fund’s Private Sector Facility
https://www.greenclimate.fund/publications/the-green-climate-fund-s-private-sector-facility
NAMA Facility, 2019, Concept and Approach, https://www.nama-facility.org/
Richter, Alexander, 17 Dec 2018, IDB and CDB provide $85m for geothermal development in the Caribbean, THINKGEOENERGY
http://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/idb-and-cdb-provide-85m-for-geothermal-development-in-the-caribbean/
United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, Sep 18, 2017, Small Island nations at the frontline of climate action
https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/news-centre/news/2017/09/18/small-island-nations-at-the-frontline-of-climate-action-.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Judith Ephraim-Schmidt is the Programme Coodinator for the Sustainable Energy Unit of
the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission. Prior to that she served
as the Chief Energy, Science and Technology Officer in the Government of Saint Lucia. Ms
Ephraim-Schmidt has been working in the field of sustainable energy for the past 18
years. During her tenure with the Government of Saint Lucia she worked on the
development and implementation of the Sustainable Energy Plan and Sustainable Energy
Judith Ephraim-Schmidt Policy for Saint Lucia. This involved several aspects of Sustainable Energy including
Renewable Energy Project development, Energy Efficiency, Energy Legislation, Capacity
Building and Public Awareness and Education. Ms Ephraim-Schmidt has also worked in the areas of Climate Change,
Science and Technology, the Green Economy ,and Hazard and Disaster Mitigation. Ms Ephraim holds a BSc (Hons) in
Environmental Geoscience from the University of Bristol UK, and a MSc in Resources Engineering from the University
of Karlsruhe (now Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KIT,) in Germany. She most recently pursued studies in the MBA
Renewables Programme at the Beuth Hochschule für Technik Berlin, University of Applied Sciences.
CE INDUSTRY Journal 19