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# U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis 2030

The U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis 2030 (PACC 2030) is the U.S. government’s flagship partnership with the Caribbean to advance climate adaptation and resilience and clean energy cooperation as we work to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Launched by Vice President Harris during the Summit of the Americas in June 2022, PACC 2030’s objectives are based on 4 pillars: 1) Improving Access to Development Financing, 2) Facilitating Clean Energy Project Development and Investment, 3) Food Security and Enhancing Local Capacity for Climate Adaptation and Resilience, and 4) Deepening Collaboration with Caribbean Partners. Learn more about the work we are supporting under each pillar.

#### Fact Sheet: U.S.-Caribbean Engagement

Pillar I

Pillar II

pillar III

PILLAR IV

## Pillar I: Improving Access to Development Financing

**Dominican Republic Accelerating Clean Energy Transition:** The United States’ concessional loan of almost $1 billion to the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) can help support the Dominican Republic’s transition to clean energy.  The Clean Technology Fund invited the Dominican Republic to prepare an investment plan to access $85 million in concessional finance to support transition to clean energy through the Accelerating Coal Transition program (ACT).  On average every $1 of CTF concessional finance attracts over $10 in co-financing from multilateral development banks (MDBs), other public sources, and the private sector. 

**Barbados and Jamaica’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) support**: The U.S. Executive Office at the IMF supported Barbados and Jamaica to secure almost a $1 billion of affordable financing to address longer-term challenges, including climate change and pandemic preparedness.  The Biden Administration continues to work with the U.S. Congress to lend up to $21 billion to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST). 

**Barbados Blue-Green Investment Corporation:** In January 2023, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power announced financial and technical support to help Barbados set up the Blue-Green Investment Corporation.  With an estimated initial capitalization of $30 million by non-U.S. government partners, this public-private “green bank” is expected to unlock up to $210 million over three years to finance projects such as climate resilient housing, renewable energy, clean transportation, and water conservation first in Barbados, and later expanding to other Caribbean countries, including in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.

**Guyana-U.S. Export-Import Bank of the United (EXIM) Investment Framework:** EXIM and the Government of Guyana signed a MOU in July 2022 to explore options for utilizing EXIM financing, which include direct loans, loan guarantees, and insurance products totaling up to $2 billion for energy, water treatment, sanitation, among other sectors.  **Dominican Republic-U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and USAID to Support Energy Transition: **DFC and USAID are working with domestic financial institutions to expand financing for small businesses with a focus on energy security, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate solutions.

Pillar I

Pillar II

pillar III

PILLAR IV

## Pillar II: Facilitating Clean Energy Project Development and Investment

**Caribbean Climate Investment Program**: USAID is supporting private sector investment in the region for renewable energy, energy efficiency, natural climate solutions, and climate adaptation projects by providing access to finance, de-risking instruments, and lending products to climate finance seekers. The program establishes a project preparation facility to provide advisory services and assist private sector organizations with developers of clean energy and climate adaptation projects.

**Antigua and Barbuda Renewable Energy: **The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) leads the State Department’s Global Climate Action Partnership to support Antigua and Barbuda with clean energy and energy resilience initiatives. These projects provide backup power for critical facilities. NREL also supports capacity building and workforce development in Antigua and Barbuda for the installation and maintenance of clean and resilient energy technologies such as: solar and battery energy storage systems, hurricane resistant wind turbines, electric vehicle charging stations, and energy efficiency improvements in buildings.  

**Dominica Geothermal Development:** The State Department’s Power Sector Program advises the Dominican government and provides technical support as it seeks to support a commercial geothermal power project to achieve 100 percent renewable energy in its power sector.

**Barbados, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Suriname:** The State Department’s Power Sector Program is helping these governments achieve their clean energy and electric vehicle goals through technical cooperation related to clean energy and EV grid integration, power system planning, regulatory frameworks for distributed energy resources, grid code development, geothermal development, and other topics.

**Dominican Republic Energy Storage Regulatory Roadmap:** U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) works with the Dominican Republic’s Superintendent of Electricity (SIE) to support the development of battery storage regulations. USTDA assesses gaps in existing regulations and will create a regulatory roadmap for the deployment of energy storage technologies throughout the power system.  

**Dominican Republic Energy Cybersecurity and Jamaica Rooftop Solar: **USAID’s Energy Sector Reform (ESR) initiated the first in a series of energy cybersecurity training workshops in the Dominican Republic in December 2022 and replicated the trainings across the region. USAID held a forum in Barbados to advance battery storage system regulation and adoption in February 2023 and launched an assessment of potential rooftop solar expansion in Jamaica in December 2022 and the Dominican Republic in June 2023.

**Saint Lucia Electricity Sector Reform:** The State Department’s Power Sector Program works with NURC to build regulatory capacity on a wide range of topics to enhance power market competition and attract more clean energy investment.  

**Building Technical and Regulatory Capacity:** The State Department’s Power Sector Program delivers regional trainings and capacity building workshops benefitting Caribbean energy regulators and electric utilities as they develop regulatory frameworks, clean energy projects, and institutional technical capacity on the clean energy transition, in partnership with CARILEC and OOCUR and in coordination with the Caribbean Development Bank and CCREEE.  

**Supporting Clean Energy Procurement:** The Commercial Law Development Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce reviews contract templates and delivers capacity building on Power Purchase Agreements to improve bankability of contracts. 

**Caribbean Smart Grid and Climate Technologies:** USTDA hosted a Smart Grid and Climate Technologies Virtual Workshop in July 2023 for Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. The virtual workshop provided an opportunity for Caribbean energy-sector stakeholders to exchange experiences with U.S. industry and learn about cutting-edge technologies for modernizing energy infrastructure and creating resilient grids.**Green Shipping Challenge****:**The United States is working with Caribbean partners (including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago) as well as IDB and other regional stakeholders to develop concrete actions to help align the maritime sector in this decade with an emissions trajectory consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

Pillar I

Pillar II

pillar III

PILLAR IV

## Pillar III: Food Security and Enhancing Local Capacity for Climate Adaptation and Resilience

### *Food Security*

**Caribbean Agricultural Improvement and Production Activity (CAPA)**: USAID promotes sustainable agricultural practices, increase farmer knowledge via improved extension, formalize smallholder market access by building micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprise capacity to improve the region’s access to locally produced food. Support will focus in Guyana, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia, and Trinidad & Tobago, while virtual capacity building and knowledge sharing events will be held for stakeholders throughout the Eastern and Southern Caribbean region. 

**Resilient Agriculture Activity (RAA) in the Dominican Republic:** This $2.7 million, two-year project launched in February will directly address the spike in food prices, crude oil, and commodities—including fertilizers and other common agricultural inputs—due to supply chain disruptions.  The project aims to mobilize funding from the private sector and will benefit 1,500 farmers, 30 percent of them women and youth. 

**Fertilizer and Nutrient Management:** From February to September 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and USAID developed and held specialized trainings on efficient use of fertilizer, bio-fertilizer production, and nutrient management to 200 extension workers in Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica.

**Food for Progress**: USDA Food for Progress has several projects including in Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic totaling $59 million. These projects focus on strengthening food security and enabling trade, with activities targeting several value chains.  The value chains are in the spices, cacao, banana, beans, vegetables sectors.  Food for Progress also focuses on improving animal health, food safety, and expanding of meat processing.

**McGovern-Dole International Food for Education**: USDA provides school feeding assistance to Haiti since 2011 under the McGovern-Dole program, valued at $72.3 million. In FY 2023, USDA awarded a new five-year McGovern-Dole project to the World Food Program (WFP), valued at $33 million, delivering daily school meals to an estimated 104,230 beneficiaries in 300 primary schools in northern Haiti.  The McGovern-Dole project also includes a local and regional procurement component, technical assistance and advocacy to build resilience, nutrition education, improve access to water, and increase literacy.  

**Scientific Exchange Program**: USDA’s Scientific Exchange Program is currently supporting collaboration between U.S. researchers and those from Trinidad & Tobago focusing on increasing climate adaptation practices to badnavirus management in cocoa production.

**African Swine Fever Response**:  USDA is working throughout the Caribbean to strengthen the region’s capability to prevent and control African Swine Fever (ASF).  In 2021, ASF was confirmed on Hispaniola and threatens livelihoods and food security in the region. Work is with both the public and private sectors to increase surveillance and strengthen response plans.  

### *Climate Adaptation and Resilience *

**300 Percent Increase in Energy Transition and Climate Resilience Funding:** Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, the State Department increased climate resilience and clean energy funding in the Caribbean nearly threefold. 

**Support for the Caribbean Regional Climate Outlook Forum (CARICOF):** The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is supporting the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) in advancing adaptation and resilience through the development of sustained climate services for risk management.  NOAA recently issued a grant of over $480,000 to CIMH to support engagement-centered research on the use of climate information produced by existing regional climate services efforts, including the Caribbean Regional Climate Outlook Forum (CARICOF).

**Resilience Support in the Eastern Caribbean**: Inter-American Foundation supported three national-level organizations working in disaster mitigation, coral reef restoration, natural resource management,  provided training to approximately 40 community-based organizations on disaster risk reduction techniques, governance and strategic planning, project management, proposal writing, resource management and leadership, leading to increased capacity at the community level and the implementation of projects in communities in Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.

**Support for Local 2030 Islands Network:** The State Department, NOAA, and the U.S. Navy support the Local 2030 Islands Network, the world’s first global, island-led network devoted to advancing the SDGs through locally-driven, culturally-informed solutions.  The Network serves as a peer-to-peer platform of island leaders and experts from across jurisdictions focused on developing innovative solutions in an island context.  In the past year, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, and Trinidad and Tobago have joined the Local 2030 Islands Network, committing to building island resilience to climate change.  

**Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance******(ORRAA): In the Dominican Republic, the State Department is funding a case study with ORRAA and the University of California Santa Cruz to map and quantify the resilience benefits of mangroves and coral reefs and their role in reducing coastal flood risk for vulnerable people. These data can be used by policymakers, investors, and insurers to inform effective risk management strategies that incorporate nature-based solutions. The information developed through this work will be incorporated into the Coastal Risk Index tool publicly launched in September 2023.

**Expanding early-warning systems in Caribbean SIDS:**The Department of State and NOAA launched a new climate early warning and adaptation initiative to increase the capacity for anticipating and preparing for current and future climates in developing island states in the Caribbean. NOAA will support and amplify the work of local institutions and knowledge networks to expand critical climate adaptation research, including support for the expanded development, innovation, and delivery of early warning and climate information systems.

**Accelerating Climate Change Adaptation**: USAID is supporting the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (5Cs) in the programmatic acceleration of climate action and access to finance by strengthening regional institutional capacity through the provision of climate data, data management and modeling tools, and technical assistance to public and private sector organizations involved in the development and execution of climate projects.

**Advancing Climate Resilience Planning:** USAID supports the Caribbean Islands Higher Education Resilience Consortium (CIHERC) with Northeastern University to advance community-driven climate and economic resilience planning among three vulnerable communities in Barbados and Dominica.**Sustainable Financing for Regional Conservation**: USAID is working with the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund to support conservation organizations with sustainable resources and capacities for nature-based interventions that support resilience and green-blue economic development opportunities.

**Building Community Resilience in the Eastern & Southern Caribbean:** The Inter-American Foundation and USAID have jointly committed $5 million since 2020 to strengthen the capacity of grassroots and civil society organizations to prepare for and recover from natural disasters. 

The U.S. Department of Defense Operationalize Climate Resilience Initiative will assist partners in the Western Hemisphere, particularly in the Caribbean, through efforts:  (1) to provide training to partner nations’ defense leadership to increase their institutional capacity for climate resilience preparation, planning, and regional response capabilities; (2) to fund additional bilateral and multilateral research on climate and defense security in the Western Hemisphere; and (3) to increase the capabilities and analytical tools available to partners to obtain actionable analytical information on climate hazards. 

The U.S. Department of Defense’s annual exercise with Caribbean partners will be hosted by Guyana in July.  The exercise includes multiple training tracks that enhance readiness for humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations, climate change disasters, and environmental security.  The purpose of the exercise is to help partners build resiliency in the region so they have the capability and capacity to respond to crisis.

### Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

**Building Community Resilience in the Eastern & Southern Caribbean:** The Inter-American Foundation and USAID have jointly committed $5 million since 2020 to strengthen the capacity of grassroots and civil society organizations to prepare for and recover from natural disasters. 

**Support on Disaster Policies and Emergency Response**: USAID support to countries in the eastern and southern Caribbean to strengthen disaster management policies, and to build capacity in national disaster response organizations in partnership with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). 

**Strengthening Disaster and Climate Resilience with Meteorological Offices:** USAID partnered with the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) and meteorological offices in the eastern and southern Caribbean region to strengthen the region’s ability to respond to natural disasters while building climate resilience by improving systems for disaster recovery and response to natural disasters, and strengthening early warning systems to improve response to hydro-meteorological and hydrological systems.  Results included improved early warning systems, procurement of drones with LIDAR technologies, development of community-based hazard maps, and installation of water quality and groundwater monitoring stations.

**Strengthening Climate Resilience Preparation**: The U.S. Department of Defense Operationalize Climate Resilience Initiative will assist partners in the Western Hemisphere, particularly in the Caribbean, through efforts:  (1) to provide training to partner nations’ defense leadership to increase their institutional capacity for climate resilience preparation, planning, and regional response capabilities; (2) to fund additional bilateral and multilateral research on climate and defense security in the Western Hemisphere; and (3) to increase the capabilities and analytical tools available to partners to obtain actionable analytical information on climate hazards. 

**Disaster Response Preparedness**: The U.S. Department of Defense’s annual exercise with Caribbean partners will be hosted by Guyana in July.  The exercise includes multiple training tracks that enhance readiness for humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations, climate change disasters, and environmental security.  The purpose of the exercise is to help partners build resiliency in the region so they have the capability and capacity to respond to crisis.

**Tsunami Preparedness**: NOAA, with funding from USAID, supports the implementation of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO Tsunami Ready Recognition Program to build resilient communities through preparedness strategies to protect life, livelihoods, and property from tsunamis. NOAA provides support, including training, for tsunami hazard assessment, evacuation mapping, awareness, and response planning to help communities across the Caribbean achieve Tsunami Ready recognition.

**Supporting Emergency Communication Infrastructure:**  USTDA technical assistance to Jamaica’s Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology will provide recommendations for technological and operations upgrades that will advance the development of a unified national emergency communications infrastructure. The technical assistance will strengthen the country’s ability to adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change. 

Pillar I

Pillar II

pillar III

PILLAR IV

## Pillar IV: Deepening Collaboration with Caribbean Partners.

In mid-February, the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Assistant Secretary Brian A. Nichols led a U.S. high level government delegation to participate in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Intersessional Meetings in The Bahamas.  The U.S. delegation was comprised of Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas Chris Dodd, and EXIM President and Chair of the Board of Directors Reta Jo Lewis.  

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro visited The Bahamas on March 1, 2023, to engage the broader Caribbean region.  Secretary Del Toro delivered a keynote speech on “Building Resilience and Security in Island Countries Threatened by Climate Change” at the University of The Bahamas and announced a partnership between the Naval Postgraduate School and the University of The Bahamas.

Dr. Rick Spinrad, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, visited Barbados in April 2023. While in Bridgetown, Dr. Spinrad presented a public lecture on the value of international collaboration for improved natural hazard warning systems, delivered keynote remarks at a workshop co-hosted by NOAA and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology on Climate Services to Support Adaptation and Resilience in the Caribbean and met with key NOAA partners and regional leaders.

Vice President Kamala Harris led a U.S.-Caribbean Leaders Meeting in The Bahamas in June 2023 to continue discussions on shared efforts to address the climate crisis, including by promoting climate resilience and adaptation in the Caribbean region and by increasing energy security through clean energy.  The Vice President announced more than $100 million in new assistance for the region including increased security cooperation, enhanced diplomatic presence in the Eastern Caribbean to include two new diplomatic facilities, and PACC 2030.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participated in the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting and the 50th Anniversary of CARICOM celebration in Trinidad and Tobago on July 5, 2023.  Accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols, Secretary Blinken engaged on pressing issues in the region and broader Atlantic cooperation.

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