Washington, D.C., 7 November 2024 – Hon. Ryan R. Straughn, Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment in the Government of Barbados officially assumed the role of Co-Chair of the Global Shield against Climate Risks, a joint initiative of the G7 and V20 Group of Finance Ministers. The Global Shield aims to close the financial protection sinkhole in climate-vulnerable developing countries through pre-arranged finance. Following the Barbados assumption of the Presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum / V20 Group of Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) at the CVF Leaders Meeting during the September UN Climate Week in New York, Minister Straughn addressed the 13th dialogue of the V20 Finance Ministers in Washington D.C. on the theme ‘From Promise to Practice: Realizing Climate Prosperity through Financial Reform, Debt Solutions, and Affordable Capital’.
Back in July, Hurricane Beryl revealed the vulnerabilities of Barbados and the Caribbean serving as a stark reminder of the urgent need for quick, pre-arranged financing solutions to deal with ever-increasing climate risks. Catastrophic winds and heavy rainfall caused severe loss and damage to the fishing, agriculture, and tourism sectors of the island while disrupting essential services such as water, electricity and healthcare. Vulnerable populations and essential livelihoods were heavily impacted, exacerbating economic adversity.
Minister Straughn reinforced the urgency, saying: “We have seen first-hand the devastating effect that climate-related disasters can have on our households and livelihoods. Building climate and financial resilience is essential to safeguarding our population and economy. Barbados is excited to contribute to providing effective pre-arranged finance to protect climate-vulnerable populations through the Global Shield initiative.”
“In terms of risk management, pre-arranged and trigger-based funds and anticipatory financing are key for predictability and enhanced risk sharing, especially as we strengthen regional risk pools and adaptive social protection”, he added.
HE Minister Straughn highlighted the urgency of deploying pre-arranged financing solutions through the global initiative, which he co-chairs with Dr. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary to the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. As Co-Chair, Minister Straughn also chairs the Global Shield Board that is scheduled to meet later in the year to carve out the strategic direction of the Global Shield initiative.
“We are excited about Barbados’ leadership of the Global Shield initiative. The Caribbean country’s steer of the Bridgetown Initiative that seeks to mobilise vast amounts of additional finance to fill the gaping holes in both climate and overall development finance is a valuable experience for Global Shield implementation, especially as the Global Shield represents an important pre-arranged financing arrangement for responding to climate-induced loss and damage,” said Mohamed Nasheed, the Secretary-General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a heads of states forum of 70-member states under the auspices of which the V20 Finance Ministers convenes.
Representing the Global Shield Secretariat in Washington D.C. was the initiative’s Co-Director, Nilesh Prakash who added: “We look forward to the leadership of Barbados in steering inclusive, country-led processes under the Global Shield to ensure tailored support and greater financial protection to those who need it most”.
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About the Global Shield against Climate Risks
Launched at COP27 by the V20 Group of Finance Ministers and the G7, the Global Shield against Climate Risks aims to increase protection for climate-vulnerable economies and communities by providing and facilitating substantially more and better pre-arranged and trigger-based finance against disasters and climate risks. Greater financial protection and faster and more reliable disaster preparedness and response will contribute to effectively responding to losses and damages from climate change.
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Global Shield Secretariat
About CVF-V20:
The CVF-V20 represents 70 member-countries from small island developing states (SIDS), least developed countries (LDCs), low-to-middle income countries (LMICs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS). Working together, the CVF-V20 aims to achieve climate justice through the realization of Climate Prosperity Plans, which contain ambitious economic and financial resilience strategies designed to attract investment and resources that advance the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, 30×30 Global Biodiversity, and help keep the average global temperatures to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C safety threshold.
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CVF-V20 Secretariat