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© 2025 Island Innovation. All rights reserved.

    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

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    Showing 9 of 90 news items in Green Finance & Economy
    Australia's Climate Resilience Investment Imperative: Opportunities in Pacific Infrastructure and Domestic Adaptation Markets
    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].

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

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    £1.3m package of support for Islands innovation
    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.

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

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    Sea moss sustainable: Growing the future of Saint Lucia
    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.

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

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    Blue bonds and mangrove protection: Small island nations lead in climate resilience
    Green Finance & EconomyMay 20, 2025

    Blue bonds and mangrove protection: Small island nations lead in climate resilience

    Last year, the South Pacific Stock Exchange and International Finance Corporation, with support from Australia and New Zealand, launched an initiative to help identify environmentally sustainable economic activities. The aim is to guide public and private investments toward projects aligned with Fiji’s climate goals. It was just one of several initiatives deployed by Small Island Developing States in the effort to confront a complex web of challenges, comprising rising sea levels and coastal erosion, with the resultant effect on volatile sectors such as tourism. Small island nations are increasingly turning to environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards as a potential tool for sustainable development. ESG frameworks are designed to align investment flows with environmental stewardship, social equity and responsible governance. ESG principles are closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), not only as market signals, but governance tools to track and steer national progress toward global sustainability targets. However, their introduction to small island nations is itself proving a challenge.

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    Isle of Harris cuts jobs and production
    Green Finance & EconomyMay 6, 2025

    Isle of Harris cuts jobs and production

    Photo: [The Spirits Business](https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/content/uploads/2023/09/Isle-of-Harris.png), 2025 Scotch whisky and gin maker Isle of Harris Distillery will restructure its business after facing “challenging headwinds”, cutting jobs and production in the process. The distillery was established in 2015 and is one of the largest employers on the Isle of Harris in Scotland with 45 members of staff. In a statement, the company confirmed it would implement a restructuring programme, following “challenging headwinds” in the spirits industry. Simon Erlanger, managing director of Isle of Harris Distillery, said: “In a move to safeguard the future of our business, today we are introducing a restructuring programme, which will see reduced production and workforce at the distillery. “Much like our colleagues in the wider spirits industry, we are facing challenging headwinds that have led to some incredibly difficult decisions. “Following a number of cost-cutting measures, voluntary redundancy is being offered to staff in the first instance, with compulsory to follow thereafter if we do not fulfil our cost reduction target.” The company did not disclose how many jobs would be affected as consultations are ongoing. As part of the restructure, the business will now move from two shifts a day to one in its distillation. Erlanger called the situation “deeply regrettable” and expressed his thanks to the team, particularly to those affected by the restructure, for their “dedication and contribution to the business”.

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    Seventeen women honoured for their contributions to national development ahead of International Women’s Day
    Green Finance & EconomyMarch 11, 2025

    Seventeen women honoured for their contributions to national development ahead of International Women’s Day

    Excerpt and Photo from antiguaobserver.com On March 1st, the Caribbean Union Bank (CUB) and the Directorate of Gender Affairs (DoGA) within the Ministry of Social & Urban Transformation honoured 17 women for their outstanding service to the nation of Antigua and Barbuda at the Women of Wadadli and Wa’Omoni Awards Gala. This was the second installment of the award ceremony, the first having been held in 2020. The awards aim to specifically highlight women’s contributions to national development and promoting gender equality. DoGA Executive Director, Jamie Saunders said: “The Directorate of Gender Affairs (DoGA) sees the Women of Wadadli and Wa’Omoni (WOW) awards as a unique opportunity, to recognize and validate the contributions that women have made and continue to make as it relates to national development, across a variety of fields and sectors. The WOW awards will remain a staple event for the DoGA, and we hope that it will inspire the women and girls of Antigua and Barbuda to continue to break barriers and to aspire to greatness”. For the second time running, the Caribbean Union Bank sponsored the event. This year, they played an extra special role as title sponsor.

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