The catastrophic hurricanes that hit many Caribbean islands in 2017 showed the vulnerability of the region to the adverse effects of climate change. To support regional efforts to tackle this vulnerability, the European Investment Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) signed a USD 110m financing agreement in May 2017. This is the EIB’s biggest ever loan to the Caribbean.

The framework loan will allow the CDB flexibility to finance small and medium-sized investments over three to five years. It will support infrastructure adaptation and upgrading to promote climate resilience as well as post-disaster reconstruction with a focus on “building back better”. Projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, road transport, water infrastructure and community-level physical and social infrastructure that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve climate resilience will be eligible. In the aftermath of the devastating hurricanes in late 2017, the EIB and the CDB also rapidly agreed to commit an additional USD 24m to support post-disaster recovery.