Island communities need local sustainable solutions
to build resilience and drive sustainability
James Ellsmoor, founder and
CEO, Island Innovation.
By James Ellsmoor
“Our people are watching and
taking note,” exclaimed Barbados
Prime Minister Mia Mottley
to world leaders at the United
Nations’ climate summit,
COP26, in Glasgow. Her speech
on the opening day of the twoweek
event set the stage for
several rounds of negotiations
and stock-taking as delegations
sought to find solutions to further
mitigate the climate crisis.
Echoing the sentiments of
Small Island Developing States
(SIDS) and vulnerable communities
around the world, Prime
Minister Mottley did not hold
back.
“On finance we are 20 billion
dollars short of the 100
billion pledged and this commitment
might only be met in
2023. On adaptation — adaptation
finance remains only 25
percent — not the 50:50 split
needed given the warming that
is already taking place. Climate
finance to frontline SIDS
declined by 25 percent in 2019.
Failure to provide this critical
finance and that of loss and
damage is measured in lives
and livelihoods being lost in
our communities. It is immoral
and unjust.”
Opportunities for
Climate Finance
Ahead of COP26, much had
been said about the little that
had been done about climate
finance. Developed economies
had pledged $100 billion per
year in aid to vulnerable communities
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from 2009 onwards,
yet that target had not been
reached. However, as the Caribbean
Climate-Smart Accelerator’s
CEO Racquel Moses
pointed out prior to COP26,
oil and gas companies received
over $3.3 trillion in subsidies
in just five years after the Paris
Agreement had been signed in
2015.
Some of the positive takeaways
from the COP26 negotiations
was the phasing out of
fossil fuel subsidies, and major
economies agreeing to reach
the annual $100 billion finance
mark by 2023. Yet, despite
these advancements, public
climate finance remained
an unresolved issue following
two weeks of negotiations.
Although no major assurances
or goals were set regarding the
availability of public finance
in order to support sustainability
projects in vulnerable
communities, the private sector
emerged as a willing financial
contributor.
Whether or not the $100
billion in pledges is honored,
there are projects and initiatives
in island communities
that need to be funded now.
Islands and developing countries
cannot afford to wait for
potential investment opportunities
from the public sector
– this has facilitated the rise
of private sector funds for climate
mitigation projects. The
slower, top-down approach of
international politics is not fitted
to the rapidly deteriorating
environmental conditions certain
communities are facing.
Funding Local
Programmes
Globally, private companies
and investors are seeking
to invest in climate mitigation
programmes and have
been able to mobilize funds for
local projects a lot faster than
its public sector counterparts.
With a better understanding of
local climate adaptation issues,
as well as the key stakeholders
within their communities,
private financiers have become
key sources of funding for local
organizations. Acting on a global
issue like climate change
requires local action, and local
action necessitates collaboration
across different industries
to find workable sustainable
solutions for their respective
communities.
It was under this premise
that the Island Finance Forum
was successfully launched early
last year. Recognizing the gaps
in funding that existed in island
communities, the entirely free
event sets out to close them by
creating an event that unites
decision makers from different
sectors to create lasting
change. As the World Resource
Institute’s Emma Illick-Frank
explains, local resilience programmes
are important, a onesize
fits-all approach may be
able to tackle a core issue, but
it will not take into account
local communities’ needs.
This means that while major
summits like COP26 are helpful
with creating an overarching
framework, it cannot be
relied upon to enact changes
at a local level. The first steps
towards successful adaptation
programmes and subsequent
resilience is the involvement of
stakeholders that are familiar
with the challenges being faced
in their communities and how
they might be remedied best.
However, changemakers at a
local level often do not have
the same tools or resources
at their disposal as the entities
that attend major events –
there needs to be opportunities
for local stakeholders to share
their knowledge.
Local Action for Global
Impact
Providing a platform for
financiers, innovators and
entrepreneurs to present their
projects and collaborate on key
sustainability issues enriches
local economies and creates
opportunities to support local
programmes. Such events are
making island communities
become more resilient, building
pathways for partnerships
and capacity-building using
local resources and solutions
that fit local needs. The Island
Finance Forum is returning in
April 2022 and will build upon
the growing demand for local
sustainability projects and climate
funding by showcasing
the opportunities available on
global islands.
James Ellsmoor is an awardwinning
serial entrepreneur
and writer. He is both Co-
Founder and Director of Solar
Head of State, and CEO at
Island Innovation. Recognised
on the Forbes 30 under 30 list
for his work on sustainable
energy, James is passionate
about climate change advocacy
and environmental policy.
OP-ED
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Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley speaks during
the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Change Conference
(COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain Nov. 1, 2021.
Jeff J Mitchell/Pool via REUTERS
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