Monday
November
10 - 21
2025
Time
8:00 a.m.
Time zone
-03

Location
Belém, Brazil
Events

CDB at COP 30

Climate Action
Other Multisector
Oct 24, 2025

The Caribbean stands at the forefront of the climate crisis and demands transformative action on resilience, adaptation, and sustainable development. At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, CDB will champion the region's urgent needs and showcase innovative solutions that can drive global climate action.

Key advocacy priorities include scaling climate finance for early warning systems, unlocking private capital for energy and transport transformation, and advancing climate-resilient agriculture and food security across Caribbean Small Island Developing States. Central to CDB's campaign are critical issues of climate justice, equitable access to finance for vulnerable nations, and adequate support for loss and damage, ensuring that Caribbean SIDS receive the resources and recognition they need to address climate impacts.

During the two-week conference, the CDB delegation will convene critical dialogues with governments, development partners, and private sector stakeholders. These conversations will advance collaborative solutions, strengthen regional climate finance mechanisms, and ensure that Caribbean voices shape the global climate agenda, particularly as the world moves toward more effective, locally-led adaptation and sustainable development pathways.

Washington Post Intelligence: A Conversation with CDB President, Daniel M. Best

CDB President, Daniel M. Best explores how the Caribbean is transforming climate challenges into opportunities through innovative financial solutions.

Despite facing record-breaking storms and rising sea levels, the region recorded a 21% increase in foreign direct investment, reaching USD4 billion last year, according to a recent UN report — a testament to investor confidence in the Caribbean’s resilience and potential.

President Best outlines how the CDB, the region’s only homegrown multilateral development bank, is at the forefront of efforts to reduce poverty, strengthen economies, and build climate resilience. With a portfolio approaching USD3 billion, the Bank is financing initiatives in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and the cultural industries to promote sustainable growth.

Read the full WPI feature, published on October 21, 2025, to learn how regional innovation is driving global investment in climate resilience. Read More.

Agenda

Please note that AST times are shown below

9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. AST
Leveraging Private Sector Financing for Transport and Energy Sector Transformation in the Caribbean

Public resources and concessional finance alone cannot bridge the Caribbean's climate action financing gap. Unlocking private capital through innovative instruments, risk-sharing mechanisms, and blended finance models is essential to scaling both adaptation and mitigation efforts—particularly in the transport and energy sectors, which offer transformative potential for resilience and economic competitiveness. This side event will:

  • Highlight climate action needs and investment opportunities for private sector engagement in Caribbean transport and energy transformation.
  • Showcase the CARICOM Regional Climate Finance Platform and other promising strategies for mobilizing private investment.
  • Foster candid dialogue between policymakers, investors, and development partners to identify and overcome barriers to deploying private capital at scale.

 

Event Hosts: Caribbean Development Bank and Green Climate Fund

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. AST
Agriculture and Food Security in the Caribbean: Scaling Innovative Solutions for Climate-Resilient Agriculture

Caribbean agriculture stands on the frontline of the climate crisis, facing rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and intensifying food security challenges. Yet the region continues to innovate—advancing locally-led adaptation solutions and ambitious strategies like CARICOM's "25 by 2025" initiative to reduce food import dependency. This side event will:

  • Raise awareness of critical vulnerabilities threatening Caribbean agriculture and food systems.
  • Showcase proven, locally-led adaptation solutions with significant potential for replication and scaling across the region.
  • Identify investment priorities and strengthen collaboration between multilateral development banks, international institutions, and governments to drive food systems transformation.

 

Event Hosts: Caribbean Development Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, CGIAR, and Green Climate Fund

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. AST
Financing Early Warning Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin American and Caribbean countries face increasingly frequent and intense hydro-meteorological hazards due to climate change. Early warning systems are critical to managing these escalating risks, yet progress has been uneven across the region—largely due to inadequate, fit-for-purpose financing. This side event will bring together governments, development partners, and key stakeholders to:

  • Examine the financing gaps and barriers hindering the development of robust early warning systems across the region.
  • Spotlight new initiatives addressing these challenges, including the CDB-led CREWS project recently approved by the Green Climate Fund for Belize and Trinidad and Tobago.
  • Advance dialogue on the joint CAF-CABEI-CDB Co-Investment Platform for Climate Information and Early Warning Systems (CIEWS), strengthening its design and regional impact.

 

Events Hosts: Caribbean Development Bank, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, Green Climate Fund 

Speakers

Mr. Daniel M. Best
President, Caribbean Development Bank
VIEW
Agriculture and Food Security in the Caribbean: Scaling Innovative Solutions for Climate-Resilient Agriculture
Monday November 17
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Time zone: -03
Food & Agriculture Pavilion

Mr. Daniel M. Best

President, Caribbean Development Bank

Mr. Best is the 7th President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Region’s sole indigenous multilateral development finance institution based in Barbados. A highly professional and diverse leader, Mr. Best was a Senior Infrastructure and Development Advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister of Barbados, seconded from his role as Director, Projects Department at CDB. With over 30 years of experience as a Civil Engineer, Project Management Professional, and Development Banker, he is known for his ability to foster strong working relationships and leading teams to success.

Under his leadership, the CDB Projects Department was able to transform the lives of approximately 1.6mn Caribbean people in the areas of education, access to resilient infrastructure and expansion of inclusive opportunities to women and girls. He not only spearheaded the Bank’s collaboration outreach to other regional IFIs but also led the development of the Bank’s first Sustainable Financing Framework and created the window to mobilise private capital for regional development. Mr. Best graduated from the University of Durham with a Master of Business Administration and holds a Master of Science in Construction Engineering and Management from the University of the West Indies (St. Augustine). He is widely recognised back as a regional authority in the ideation and delivery of resilient inclusive development solutions that meet the transformational needs of the Caribbean. His leadership, professionalism, and understanding of the value of collaborative relationships have been key to his success.

Monday November 17
Time Zone
America/Belem
Mr. Donneil Cain
Climate Change Coordinator, Caribbean Development Bank
VIEW
Agriculture and Food Security in the Caribbean: Scaling Innovative Solutions for Climate-Resilient Agriculture
Monday November 17
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Time zone: -03
Food & Agriculture Pavilion

Mr. Donneil Cain

Climate Change Coordinator, Caribbean Development Bank

Monday November 17
Time Zone
America/Belem
Mr. Greenwell Matchaya
Senior Researcher - Economics-ReSAKSS Coordinator, Deputy Country Representative - South Africa, International Water Management Institute
VIEW
Agriculture and Food Security in the Caribbean: Scaling Innovative Solutions for Climate-Resilient Agriculture
Monday November 17
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Time zone: -03
Food & Agriculture Pavilion

Mr. Greenwell Matchaya

Senior Researcher - Economics-ReSAKSS Coordinator, Deputy Country Representative - South Africa, International Water Management Institute

Monday November 17
Time Zone
America/Belem

Climate Stories

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Sep 24, 2024
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Aug 23, 2024
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Caribbean Development Bank and Agence Française de Développement Partnership Unlocks USD50 million to Enable a Greener Caribbean

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