Cabinet has approved a funding proposal that will see the creation of the Barbados Blue Green Bank.
This was revealed by Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, during a bi-monthly post-Cabinet press briefing at Parliament this morning.
Mr. Abrahams explained that Cabinet agreed to counterpart funding under which Barbados must provide BDS$20 million to the Blue Green Bank, and agreed to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partnerships for the start-up operation of the institution.
The Minister also confirmed Barbados’ intention to match the fund to the amount of BDS$5 million being provided by USAID for international development for the start-up operation. “This is expected to be presented to the board of the Green Climate Fund in July 2023,” he said.
Mr. Abrahams explained that the fund would assist with projects such as the Roofs to Reefs Programme, which was holistically designed to capture all aspects of Barbados’ resilience.
This, he pointed out, included capturing rainfall, protecting the island’s coastlines, chemicals used, erosion and other climate-related issues.
“We need to look at the fertilisers, and how the run off of those affect the coral reefs. If the reefs die, then it destroys the barrier to protect the land against the sea,” he noted.
Minister Abrahams further disclosed that Government also ratified the grant arrangement for the Roofs to Reefs Programme, and approved the signing of the agreement for the Green Climate Fund.