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Showing 9 of 84 news items in Green Finance & Economy

Green Finance & EconomyApril 27, 2023

Global Gateway: Team Europe provides €14 million for water infrastructure in São Tomé

Photo: Retrieved from international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu At the United Nations (UN) 5th Conference for Least Developed Countries (LDC5), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union (EU) announced new Team Europe support of €14 million to improve the water network on the island of São Tomé. The project, which is part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, is expected to bring economic, social and environmental benefits for the country and the communities concerned. More efficient water distribution will help to strengthen the island against the effects of climate change, such as variable rainfall. Managing increasingly limited freshwater resources has become an urgent challenge for small island developing states as growing demand confronts more unpredictable weather patterns. The project will contribute to better health by the provision of clean water, reducing water-borne diseases. The project is a strategic priority for São Tomé and will be managed by the country’s power and water company Empresa de Água e Eletricidade (EMAE). The project will substantially improve the level of service to existing users of the water distribution network, but also aims to connect a further 25,000 people, who currently do not have direct access. Households connected to the water network will no longer have to collect water elsewhere, freeing families – usually women and girls – from a time-consuming chore. Access to clean water and sanitation (the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6) is recognised as fundamental to good health. Healthy people are more able to study and work, which in turn leads to higher productivity and economic growth.

Green Finance & EconomyApril 21, 2023

Changing Tides: Red Funnel unveils ambitious ‘ESG’ plan to benefit environment and Isle of Wight community

Photo: Retrieved from onthewight.com [Red Funnel](https://onthewight.com/about/red-funnel/) has launched its renewed environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) strategy, Changing Tides, which sees the ferry operator chart its course to net zero and continue to support the Isle of Wight community for years to come. Changing Tides underpins all Red Funnel’s normal policies and procedures, defining how it operates, behaves, and reports on its performance. **Designed to achieve real and measurable results**The new ESG strategy is a framework designed to be embedded into Red Funnel’s operations to achieve real and measurable results on the environment and communities. Alongside the societal and governance priorities of ESG, the Government has set the maritime industry a clear net zero target through Maritime 2050. **Charting a course to net zero** Changing Tides will help the ferry operator chart its course to net zero, with carbon and waste management plans that will enable Red Funnel to reduce its carbon footprint, better segregate its waste streams and increase the reuse and recycling of waste materials.

Green Finance & EconomyApril 21, 2023

A “Green Wave” for Fiji and the Pacific

Image Retrieved from asiafoundation.org It’s time for the Pacific Islands to go green. But what does that actually mean, and how can we best move forward? For families already struggling to put food on the table, just thinking about going green can be quite difficult, and for small businesses in the Pacific it can be unsustainably expensive. While most Fijian businesses express a willingness to go green, there is no guidebook, no strategic framework, to help them make the right decisions for their own operations or lobby for greener public policies. In 2020, as Covid-19 was upending daily life and disrupting global supply chains, Fiji experienced a transformation of the small-business environment. Some 115,000 Fijians lost full-time work, but drawing on their strong traditional culture, they responded with a surge in cottage industries. Family kitchens became factories. Health and beauty products and a newly emerging fusion cuisine helped households support their livelihoods. With employment and the general state of the economy in limbo, some businesses staked new claims to niche spaces or specialties. Small businesses began to look inside the country for alternative supply chains, while larger companies refocused their strategies from exports to local markets. New entrepreneurs combined traditional knowledge with e-commerce savvy to do business in new ways. Many also saw an opportunity to explore greener ways of working. In 2020, in partnership with The Asia Foundation–Pacific Islands, the Women Entrepreneurs Business Council of Fiji (WEBC) embarked on an ambitious project called Green Wave: Advancing Women’s Green Entrepreneurship in Fiji. … The Green Policy now offers these businesses a robust framework for greener practices that addresses environmental, social, and economic issues and identifies partners and suppliers that align with the policy standards. The massive achievement of the Green Policy exemplifies what a locally empowered women’s group can do to create real change for sustainability.

Green Finance & EconomyApril 21, 2023

Dr. Douglas Invites Investors To St. Kitts And Nevis As He Pitches Sustainable Island State Vision At Island Finance Forum On Apr 20, 2023

Photo: retrieved from nevispages.com Basseterre – Island Innovation’s Island Finance Forum kicked off on Tuesday morning bringing island leaders and stakeholders from across the world together virtually. Foreign Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas joined the Governor of Guam, the Deputy Premier of Bermuda, and a fellow Foreign Minister from Tuvalu in addressing six thousand island stakeholders representing government, research, and innovators and private sector representatives from across the world. The Foreign Minister, during his intervention, urged the global community to reform the global financial architecture that locked small island states out of concessional financing for sustainable development. He lauded the efforts of Prime Minister Motley of Barbados and expressed hope for a positive outcome of the joint meeting organised by Barbados and France in Paris in June on a New Global Financial Pact. The Foreign Minister, who also holds responsibility for Industry, Investment and Economic Development, underscored that the Administration’s Sustainable Island State vision depends on the ability of vulnerable islands like Saint Kitts and Nevis to access finance on the international market. He reiterated the Prime Minister’s call for the IFIs to implement a Multi-Dimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) that privileges the Caribbean’s unique vulnerability to natural disasters like hurricanes. In calling for an overhaul of the neo-colonial world order and international financial architecture the Foreign Minister called for “bridging the gap between the G7 and the G77. In recalling the institutional bias against small island states in the Global South, the Foreign Minister invoked anti-Apartheid activist Randall Robinson by stating, “We all have to die, and I preferred to have just one death. But it seems to me that to suffer insult without response is to die many deaths.” The calls for climate justice, environmental justice and reparatory justice were central to the Foreign Minister’s intervention.

Green Finance & EconomyMarch 27, 2023

Barbados’ Unique Impact On The Future Of Fintech

On October 4-6, 2023, over 800 Fintech leaders worldwide will convene at the second annual [Fintech Islands Experience conference](https://www.fintechislands.com/) at the magnificent new Sam Lord’s Castle Resort. The members of this diverse global community align around a shared mission to leverage emerging technologies to create a more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable economic system. But why have they chosen this venue on the small island nation of Barbados as the place to cultivate partnerships, share insights and build financial technology businesses? There are many reasons, starting with the bold leadership of The Honorable Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley. The delicate balancing act for financial regulators in every global jurisdiction is protecting the vulnerable while also fostering innovation that stimulates economic growth and opportunity. In this regard, Prime Minister Mottley sets a remarkable example. In her keynote address at the inaugural Fintech Islands conference in October 2022, Mottley espoused an insightful approach to regulation that weighs whether each emerging financial solution serves the public purpose while avoiding public mischief and discrimination. “It is in the principles-based approach that we find what is fair to you [the Fintech industry] and what is fair to those with whom you are seeking to serve.” In addition to regulatory environments that provide a sandbox for Fintech experimentation, the Caribbean and Atlantic also present a receptive market for Fintech companies to establish themselves and expand globally. Across a total population of 45 million people, about two-thirds of Caribbean citizens are unbanked, meaning they are predominantly cash-based. Thus it is critical to the region’s economic future to introduce innovative financial solutions that help overcome cultural and historical barriers to transition from legacy methods and spur the adoption of digital tools. With its dynamic leadership and gateway access to the world, Barbados has a unique opportunity at this pivotal moment in the Caribbean’s Fintech revolution to become the hub for the region propelling the blue and green industries towards a better economy.

Green Finance & EconomyMarch 22, 2023

Resilience and Sustainability – IMF Chooses Seychelles for Pilot Financing Mechanism

Seychelles is set to become a pilot country to benefit from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) newly launched Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), announced the mission chief for the island nation on Tuesday. Initiated in October 2022, the Resilience and Sustainability Facility provides affordable long-term financing to countries undertaking reforms to reduce risks to prospective balance of payments stability, including those related to climate change and pandemic preparedness. Calixte Ahokpossi made the statement to the press after meeting Seychelles’ President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House to discuss two IMF programmes for the country. He was accompanied by IMF’s resident representative, Aissatou Diallo, Seychelles’ finance minister Naadir Hassan and the governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles, Caroline Abel. The IMF team is in the country at the request of local authorities. “We discussed the Extended Fund Facility and the new facility called the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. The latter goes to support the climate-related efforts of governments around the world,” said Ahokpossi.

Green Finance & EconomyFebruary 20, 2023

Racquel Moses | Building the Caribbean on sustainable, collaborative growth

The Caribbean was a major global innovator in 2022. From our politicians and diplomats steering international policy in New York during the UN General Assembly and UN climate conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, to the development of key programmes like Barbados’ Blue Bonds and planning for a Caribbean Single Energy Export Market – the region’s leadership has been on full display. These actions have created a platform to build on in 2023 and will provide the opportunity for the region to step up its development initiatives. Bermuda’s Blue Prosperity Plan is gathering steam as the nation works to fulfil its own needs as well as those outlined in the global 30 by 30 target signed at the UN’s Convention on Biodiversity in December 2022. By maximising the conservation and protection of our lands and oceans, we can develop opportunities for sustainable economic growth focused primarily on the environment. Bermuda’s Blue Prosperity Plan will build a strong blue economy that can serve as a blueprint for countries within the Caribbean. Green hydrogen continues to be a close yet elusive target for lawmakers in the Caribbean and the world at large. Investments have been made in Latin America’s hydrogen infrastructure, highlighting the increasing demand for this renewable fuel. Being able to master the production of green hydrogen could be a boon for operators – and the Caribbean Single Energy Export Market continues to gain traction as a viable opportunity for the region to develop a strong low-carbon economy. Keep an eye on further developments at the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum and throughout the year.

Green Finance & EconomyFebruary 12, 2023

New Guam-based think tank, UOG’s MARC form partnership

A new Guam-based think tank led by former congressman Robert Underwood has partnered with the University of Guam’s Richard Flores Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center to promote independent research on geopolitical developments in Micronesia and the Pacific. On its [website](https://pacificcenterforislandsecurity.com/colibri-wp/about-us/#who-we-are), Pacific Center for Island Security calls itself an “action-oriented research institute” that “aims to ensure that islands and islanders themselves have a voice amongst the cacophony that is geopolitical posturing.”

Green Finance & EconomyFebruary 2, 2023

Portugal agrees to swap Cape Verde’s debt for environmental investment

**Portugal has signed an agreement to swap Cape Verde’s debt for investments in an environmental and climate fund that is being established by the archipelago nation off West Africa’s coast, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Monday.** Such “debt-for-nature” swap deals are emerging in other countries and are part of attempts to resolve a dilemma faced by world leaders on how and who will foot the bill for actions taken to reduce the impact of climate change. The former Portuguese colony, which is already suffering from rising sea levels and significant biodiversity loss due to increasing ocean acidity, owes around 140 million euros ($152m) to the Portuguese state and over €400m ($434m) to its banks and other entities. Costa said that initially, €12m ($12m) of debt repayments to the state scheduled until 2025 will be put in the fund, and ultimately “the entire amount of debt repayments” will end up there, allowing Cape Verde to invest in energy transition and the fight against climate change.