Content Library

News

Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

Filter by Core Theme

All Themes Circular Economy Climate Action Connectivity & Digitization Culture & Community Energy & Transport Green Finance & Economy Ocean & Biodiversity Policy & Governance Tourism & Remote Work Water & Food

Showing 9 of 84 news items in Green Finance & Economy

Green Finance & EconomyOctober 17, 2025

Wetland ecosystem welcomed at Tasmanian sheep farm after 20-year restoration effort

Excerpt from abc.net.au In short: Sheep farmer Will Eddington is taking part in a global push to restore ecologically important wetlands that have been described as "the Earth's kidneys". His property, Richmond Park Estate, hosts a wetland that was once abundant in wildlife and used regularly by Aboriginal people before colonial farming practices degraded the landscape.

Green Finance & EconomyOctober 17, 2025

Small islands face outsized climate impacts and require US$12 billion a year in climate finance to cope

Excerpt from gca.org Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 7 October 2025 – The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) today launched State and Trends in Adaptation 2025: Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the most comprehensive assessment to date of climate risks, macro-economic impacts and practical solutions for the world’s 39 island economies. The report shows that, without accelerated adaptation, cumulative climate damages across SIDS could reach as high as US$476 billion by 2050—equivalent to several years of national output in some countries—yet current international public adaptation finance to SIDS averages just over US$2 billion a year, or 0.2% of global climate finance. GCA calls for a step-change to at least US$12 billion annually, a level SIDS themselves identify in their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), noting this represents only around 1.2% of global climate finance and about 4% of global Overseas Development Assistance (ODA).

Green Finance & EconomySeptember 30, 2025

Cabo Verde : from island vulnerability to economic resilience

Excerpt from africa-news-agency.com By Bylkiss Mentari At independence in 1975, Cabo Verde faced multiple challenges: geographic isolation, limited natural resources, and an economy dominated by subsistence agriculture. With one of the lowest GNI per capita in Africa, the archipelago seemed destined for economic marginalization. However, political stability and a series of ambitious economic reforms allowed the country to gradually diversify its activities and build a more resilient economy. “An increase of 16.8% in gross national income per capita between 2023 and 2024 reflects the country’s economic evolution. As of today, July 1, 2025, Cabo Verde will be classified as an upper-middle-income country according to World Bank criteria,” the institution stated in a press release. Tourism: the engine of growth In 2024, Cabo Verde’s GDP reached $2.77 billion, with an annual growth rate of 7.3%. Tourism, the main growth driver, increased by 16.5% and now accounts for nearly 25% of GDP and 55% of exports, according to Coface. The archipelago successfully attracted European markets, particularly Portugal, France, and the UK, and the arrival of low-cost airlines further boosted its appeal. “Cabo Verde’s recovery is a testament to the resilience of its people and institutions. But to transform this rebound into lasting and inclusive prosperity, bold reforms are needed – particularly to improve SOE governance, support women’s economic participation, and diversify the economy,” said Indira Campos, World Bank Resident Representative for Cabo Verde.

Green Finance & EconomySeptember 24, 2025

Australia's Climate Resilience Investment Imperative: Opportunities in Pacific Infrastructure and Domestic Adaptation Markets

Excerpt from ainvest.com Australia's strategic investments in climate resilience have increasingly focused on the Indo-Pacific, particularly the Pacific Islands, where rising sea levels, intensifying cyclones, and droughts threaten infrastructure, food security, and economic stability. From 2020 to 2025, the Australian government has committed $3 billion in climate finance, with $1.3 billion explicitly directed toward adaptation efforts in the regionDelivering on our climate finance commitments[1]. This funding prioritizes “hard” infrastructure projects such as coastal protection, flood alleviation, and climate-resilient transport networks, delivered through mechanisms like the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) and its dedicated climate window, the Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership (PCIFP)How to scale up Australia's investment in Pacific climate adaptation[3]. These initiatives aim to address the acute vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), where climate risks are existential. Pacific Infrastructure: A High-Risk, High-Reward Frontier The Pacific Islands represent a critical frontier for adaptation finance. Australia's $350 million contribution to the PCIFP has already funded projects like the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project, which includes $38 million for land reclamation and seawalls to protect critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schoolsCounting Australia's climate finance[4]. Similarly, the AIFFP has supported renewable energy systems in remote communities and upgraded port facilities to withstand extreme weather eventsHow to scale up Australia's investment in Pacific climate adaptation[3]. These investments align with the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific, which emphasizes integrated approaches to climate and disaster risk managementPacific regional – climate change and resilience[2].

Green Finance & EconomySeptember 24, 2025

How debt swaps and fossil fuel levies can help small islands survive climate change

Excerpt from reuters.com September 16 - Over the past year, the world has become more unstable. Amid mounting political and economic crises the focus on climate has taken a step back. We saw this in the failures to achieve a just and fair finance deal at COP29 in Baku, in national governments dragging their feet on climate commitments, and in fossil fuel companies insidiously disinvesting in clean energy to focus on squeezing every drop of oil from a scorched earth. And scorched it is. Just this year the city of Los Angeles and regions in Canada and France burned. Mountain villages in India and Europe were wiped off the map, hundreds of people died in flooding in Pakistan, and more than a million were displaced. In Antigua and Barbuda, we’re anxiously scanning the horizon as hurricane season is upon us, while our coasts wash away and sea levels rise. As I head to Climate Week NYC and the U.N. General Assembly, my people, and millions of others on small islands developing states (SIDS), stand to lose their homelands. Not parts of it; all of it. If global warming is not contained, small island states like ours will face a future where survival means leaving our shores behind. The choice for small island states will no longer be how to adapt, but whether our people can remain on their islands at all.

Green Finance & EconomySeptember 10, 2025

£1.3m package of support for Islands innovation

Excerpt from hw.ac.uk This £1.3m programme is funded by the Scottish and UK Governments through the £100 million Islands Growth Deal and offers innovation funding and dedicated support to help island organisations turn ideas into reality. This project is part of the wider TalEntEd Islands Programme, delivered in collaboration with the University of the Highlands & Islands, which leads on the development of work-based learning and Robert Gordon University, which leads on the growth of entrepreneurship. The Heriot-Watt team will focus on supporting innovators and enterprises to develop or adopt new products, services and processes that could strengthen local economies, bring lasting benefits to island communities and help realise the ambition for the islands to be among the first places in the UK to achieve net zero.

Green Finance & EconomySeptember 3, 2025

Promoting sustainable intra-African export growth for Cabo Verde’s small and medium-sized enterprises through the blue economy

Excerpt from unctad.org Cabo Verde — a small island economy subject to a fragile ecological system, natural hazards and the looming threat of climate change — can best safeguard and extend its social development progress by integrating it growth into a trade-based economy that respects the ecological boundaries of its islands. Given its small domestic market size and structural trade deficit that marks the country’s external trade, expansion of exports, on both the intensive and extensive margins, will play a vital role. In this regard, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers unique opportunities, particularly since Cabo Verde’s trade with the African region, especially ECOWAS, is very modest. Additionally, global supply chains are experiencing headwinds following the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the Middle East, and rising geopolitical tensions between the United States of America and China. This report examines the economic and ecological challenges facing Cabo Verde in increasing goods exports, particularly from small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the Africa region. It analyzes the country’s dependence on tourism and fish (tuna) exports, highlighting the vulnerability of these sectors to a fragile environment, climate change and global economic shocks. The report also explores the potential for expanding exports to other African countries through regional value chains, as well as developing a sustainable Blue Economy that leverages the country’s marine resources while protecting the environment and strengthening trade with other African countries.

Green Finance & EconomyJuly 14, 2025

Sea moss sustainable: Growing the future of Saint Lucia

March 2020. I remember standing on the beach looking out at the Caribbean Sea, terrified of what would lie ahead. I’d just heard on the news that the world was shutting down, and we didn’t know when it would start back up again. I thought of Saint Lucia, an island that had become a second home to me and wondered when I would get to return. The Covid-19 pandemic brought an immediate and strict lockdown and Saint Lucia shut down before many other nations. Borders were closed, curfews were in place and – apart from supermarkets and other essential shops – all businesses were shut. As a young conservationist, I worried what the lockdown would mean for the wildlife I was working to protect, as well as for the communities I was helping to support – communities which, like many living in the Caribbean, largely relied on tourism for their income. Like the rest of the world, people in Saint Lucia and across the Caribbean feared the unknown, concerned about when this might end and how many lives would be lost. But we also remained hopeful – feeling blessed that we call such a beautiful place home – and we started to innovate.

Green Finance & EconomyJune 24, 2025

Unlocking sustainable finance, key to transition to blue and green economy for Pacific SIDS

**Apia, SAMOA** – A timely policy dialogue held this week in Apia discussed ways to unlock sustainable finance solutions for Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This is recognition of the critical role sustainable finance plays in accelerating the transition to inclusive, climate-resilient, and sustainable economies across Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, and Tokelau. Co-hosted by the Apia-based United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Multi-Country Office for Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau, and Samoa’s Ministry of Finance, the policy dialogue brought together over 60 participants, including Pacific leaders, technical experts, development partners, and financial institutions from around the region.