Jamaica, Barbados to benefit from electric mobility initiative

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, CMC – Jamaica and Barbados are to benefit from the first regional programme to promote electric mobility and green hydrogen in Latin America and the Caribbean that was first approved by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in July this year.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says it has endorsed a partnership with the GCF for the programme initiative, known as the E-mobility Programme for Sustainable Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean that aims to provide US$450 million in concessionary loans and grants to nine countries to help cities in the region transition toward lower carbon emissions and resilient public transportation.

It will accelerate the use of electric and hydrogen-based public transportation and make urban mobility systems more resilient to climate change.

The programme will help power the green transition in Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

IDB's vice president for sectors and knowledge, Benigno Lopez, and Yannick Glemarec, GCF's executive director, made the announcement after a bilateral meeting at the ongoing 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27).

The IDB plays a key role at the conference as the region's primary strategic partner for changeling private and public investment for climate action and for mobilising private capital.

“Not only will our investment of $200 million help increase access to low-emission transportation and strengthen the resilience of the urban transport infrastructure, but it will also provide socioeconomic benefits to millions of people in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Glemarec said.

By increasing access to low-emission transportation, the programme will eliminate 7.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Meanwhile, its climate adaptation feature will directly benefit 1.5 million people and indirectly benefit nine million, representing nine per cent of the total population in the beneficiary countries.

Benefits will also include lower fossil-fuel import bills, improved public- and private-sector mobility capacity, new green jobs, a fair transition that addresses gender and other considerations, and a power grid that is more resilient to climate events.

The IDB and other partners are expected to provide US$200 million of the funding ($195 million in loans and five million in grants) while the Green Climate Fund just approved another $200 million ($145 million in loans and $55 million in grants).

Governments in the beneficiary countries are expected to provide an additional US$50 million in local co-financing, for a total initial investment of $450 million.

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