JSIF’s Green Climate Fund to support climate-resilient projects

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) was recently accredited by the Green Climate Fund, which will allow the organisation to access up to US$50 million at any given time, to implement projects which are geared towards climate change resilience. The benefits to be derived from this accreditation means that the people of Jamaica will benefit enormously through the various impactful projects which will be implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund.

Among the critical benefits are that, the JSIF will have the ability to represent the Government of Jamaica in accessing grant funding to assist in addressing the negative impacts of climate change, as well as contributing to the overall goal of limiting global warming as stipulated by the 2016 Paris Agreement.

Through the Government of Jamaica’s Country Programme, several climate-resilient projects will be identified across Jamaica. The JSIF would then invite interested parties to submit proposals for consideration of funding.

Managing Director Omar Sweeney stated that, “We do have a pipeline of community-based projects that we believe would be eligible so we will begin the necessary discussions with the Green Climate Fund team and other partners.” He also reiterated that the Government of Jamaica is now positioned to access funding to respond to the negative impacts of climate change and to implement projects which will mitigate against greenhouse gas emissions.

This accreditation was achieved through a rigorous process of system evaluation and modification, policy development and implementation by a team of JSIF experts. This process involved scrutinising of JSIF’s internal processes and systems, including its policies, financial systems, governance, and transparency framework, environmental and social safeguards, as well as an assessment of JSIF’s track record in executing major successful projects. Additionally, the JSIF’s certification to ISO 14001:2015 Standards and the maintenance of high environmental management performance in the execution of its operations was also a critical factor in the organisation receiving this prestigious accreditation.

The JSIF said it is anticipating finalising the formal agreement with the GCF in short order. Thereafter, it will have consultations with local and regional partners, including the Climate Change Division, which is Jamaica’s national designated authority.