BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Barbados is urging the international community to reform global financing arrangements and increase funding for climate adaptation, arguing that vulnerable countries should not bear the greatest financial burden for crises they have contributed least to creating.
Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Adrian Forde made the appeal while addressing the 18th Ministerial Forum on Development in Latin America and the Caribbean in Panama City, Panama, on Wednesday, October 21.
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Speaking under the theme “From Commitment to Action: State Capacities and Financing for Resilient Development,” Forde highlighted the widening gap between the funding required to help countries prepare for climate change and the resources currently available.
He said annual global financing needs for climate adaptation are projected to reach between US$310 billion and US$365 billion by 2035. However, recent international public financing for adaptation amounted to only US$31 billion, leaving a substantial shortfall.
Forde warned that the funding gap disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including women, children, older people and persons with disabilities, who often face greater difficulties recovering from economic disruptions and natural disasters.
“Through the Bridgetown Initiative, Barbados has called for a fairer and more accessible international financial architecture. Our position is simple: the countries least responsible for these crises should not carry most of the cost of resilient development,” he said.
The Bridgetown Initiative, championed by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, seeks to reform international financial systems to make funding more accessible to developing countries, particularly those vulnerable to climate change and economic shocks.
Forde said Barbados had already pursued innovative financing arrangements to support environmental protection and resilience. These include a debt-for-nature conversion completed in 2022 and a debt-for-climate-resilience conversion in 2024, aimed at supporting water security and climate adaptation.
He added that the Government was exploring debt-for-health conversions, alongside guarantees from multilateral development banks and bilateral infrastructure financing.
“We believe innovative financing can also serve social development,” Forde said.
However, the minister cautioned that securing funding was only part of the challenge. Governments also need strong institutions capable of translating financial resources into effective programmes and better services for their populations.
Assessments of Barbados’ social protection system, conducted with the Caribbean Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, identified several areas requiring improvement, including fragmented services, weak coordination, gaps in coverage and inadequate data.
In response, the Barbadian Government established the Social Empowerment Agency in January 2026 to bring together services for vulnerable families, children, older people and persons with disabilities.
Forde said the agency was intended to improve coordination, provide more integrated support and strengthen the country’s ability to respond to economic shocks and natural disasters.
“The lesson from Barbados is clear. Innovative financing and institutional reform must advance together. We cannot finance resilient development without institutions that can deliver it, and institutions cannot transform without sustainable financing,” he said.
The ministerial forum brought together regional representatives to discuss development financing, institutional capacity and social protection across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Barbados’ intervention reinforces the region’s broader call for international financial reforms that account for the particular vulnerabilities of small island developing states. These countries face rising sea levels, stronger storms and other climate-related threats, while often having limited fiscal resources to fund adaptation and recovery.
The push for more accessible financing remains central to Barbados’ efforts to strengthen climate resilience and ensure that vulnerable communities can withstand future environmental and economic challenges.
