Technical Assistance to the Caribbean Development Bank for a Climate Action Line of Credit
Leaking pipes and valves at Beausejour water treatment facility in St. Lucia. Photo credit: Jason Vogel, Abt Associates
The European Investment Bank (EIB) provides is providing financial support for a wide range of projects and program focused on improving economic development in the Caribbean. In 2012, the EIA was considering providing a $65 million line of credit to the Caribbean Development Bank to establish a new low-cost facility, the Climate Action Line of Credit (CALC). This facility was to provide financial support to borrowers who incorporate climate change adaptation into development projects.
The EIB commissioned Abt Associates’ staff to assess the capacity of the CDB and its borrowers to integrate climate change considerations into development projects. This assessment involved three weeks of field work in Barbados working with CDB staff and four weeks of field visits to sites of three CDB projects intended for funding under the CALC. These projects included:
- A water supply project in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia;
- Work on a commercial port on Great Exuma, The Bahamas; and
- Improvements to the Belize Northern Highway.
For each of these projects, Abt worked with technical experts and other stakeholders to review and revise consultancy terms of reference and contract language, ensure that the firms conducting project feasibility studies accounted for climate vulnerability, and facilitate a stakeholder workshop to generate context-specific information about vulnerability to climate impacts.
As a result of this work, the three projects were better prepared to receive funding under the CALC. This work also established the foundation for additional support from EIA, to provide technical assistance in the implementation of the CALC.
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