Pristine beaches infested with invasive seaweed, vicious hurricanes destroying whole islands, and shrinking coastlines due to rising sea levels. Despite being some of the lowest greenhouse gas-emitting countries in the world, Caribbean islands are heavily affected by climate change. But they do not have enough financial resources and skills to address the issue.
Caribbean Export has showcased success stories from the region, seeking investments to expand some of the projects, and even held a start-up competition.
One project looking for funding through the agency is a seaweed cooperative in Belize. When the fish population started to decline in the 1990s, fishermen in Belize began to look at seaweed as an alternative livelihood. The cooperative is not only environmentally friendly — helping marine life and planting in a manner that doesn’t negatively affect the habitat — but also socially beneficial because of its business model.
But while investing in climate has become inevitable for many vulnerable regions around the world, Caribbean countries face challenges when it comes to finding large-scale investors. Key partners in the region admit they are behind on that front.
Considering the region is made of many small islands, it can be tough to convince an investor to fund projects that can be difficult to scale. Some of these countries’ populations, Sinanan noted, could fit in a football stadium. When you look at solar panel projects, for example, “it’s so much more difficult when you don’t have the landmass to get that done,” he said. “You don’t have the technology, you don’t have the expertise, all of that has to be imported. And that really drives the cost up.”
Areas that could significantly improve people’s lives with innovative projects are green energy, but also sustainable agriculture, and tourism. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the region imports between 60% and 80% of its basic food requirements. In Belize, the seaweed cooperative helps to improve food security as it now supplies the local market on top of also exporting to the United States and Australia. However, there is room for more projects like this one in the region.