CDB Urges Countries to Strengthen Monitoring Frameworks for Climate Financing

• Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) are being encouraged to institute strong monitoring, compliance, and accountability frameworks to ensure that corruption does not restrict access to climate finance, and to facilitate timely implementation of climate change interventions for the benefit of the region’s citizens. 
• President of the organisation, Dr. Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon, in making the call, noted that the sizeable financing often required by countries to address infrastructural and economic vulnerabilities and recover from shocks, present opportunities for corruption to surface. Therefore, at all costs, access to affordable climate financing must be protected from maladministration and corruption. 
• He pointed out that, the need for climate finance and favourable access is a “matter of life and death” for most Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including Caribbean countries. The International Anti-Corruption Resource Centre emphasises that corruption is threatening the attainment of global climate change goals. The centre has advocated for the development of appropriate and effective anti-corruption tools and strategies to ensure that climate finance is optimised for impact and success. 
• The matter of corruption is of specific concern to the CDB and is at the forefront of the drive to access affordable climate finance for BMCs. Without adequate and internationally-recognised standards on procurement and other governance mechanisms, the CDB’s ability to mobilise the much-needed private investments will fall short. 
• Instituting suitable systems for accountability and compliance are necessary for building investor confidence and attracting investment to achieve sustainable development.

(Source: JIS News)