At the opening of the Climate Smart Summit held at Barbados’ Hilton Barbados Resort this Wednesday, regional leadership put forward an ambitious, coordinated investment initiative dubbed “5 by 35” that aims to reshape the Caribbean’s energy and agricultural sectors over the next decade. The plan calls for mobilizing $5 billion in targeted investment by 2035, with leaders framing unified action as the only path to boosting regional climate resilience, cutting costly food imports, and lowering living expenses for local communities across the bloc.
Dr. Mohammad Nagdee, executive director of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), formally introduced the “5 by 35” vision to summit attendees, emphasizing that the $5 billion target by 2035 is fully within reach, even as total regional investment needs for renewable and sustainable energy across CARICOM member states far outpace this figure. “Industry analysis shows meeting all of CARICOM’s renewable energy requirements would demand more than $12 to $15 billion in total investment,” Nagdee explained. “But the $5 billion by 2035 target is an achievable starting point that will drive meaningful transformation.”
A core critique underpinning the new initiative is the Caribbean’s long history of fragmented climate and development action, where years of strategic planning have failed to translate into tangible on-the-ground progress. “It’s often said the Caribbean produces more development and climate reports than any other region in the world, but far too few of those plans have been turned into financing and real impact for people,” Nagdee said. “A fragmented approach will never get us where we need to go — we need coordinated, collective action to unlock the scale of investment required.”
CCREEE has already made early progress toward the 5 by 35 goal: the organization has secured $15 million for active projects in the first half of 2026, and is currently negotiating another $350 million in potential investment, both directly and through partnerships with regional and global stakeholders. Proposed projects under the initiative include offshore wind energy pilot programs, green infrastructure for sustainable shipping, and large-scale energy resilience projects to strengthen utility systems against extreme weather.
Nagdee stressed that concessional, low-interest financing from global development partners in the Global North will be critical over the next two years to de-risk investments for private capital and make the region attractive for large-scale funding. “Over the next two years, we need to leverage the support of our development partners to reduce investment and country risk, so we can unlock the much larger volume of private investment we need to hit our targets,” he said.
Alongside the regional energy plan, Barbados’ Minister of Agriculture Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight outlined a $272 million national agricultural investment package at the summit, designed to strengthen the island’s food security and modernize its agricultural sector. The package targets five priority areas that will scale local production and attract private investment, with projected returns for both investors and the national economy.
The largest allocations include $110 million to restructure Barbados’ legacy sugar industry into a fully circular economy, where every byproduct of sugar production will be utilized, including for renewable energy generation. Another $110 million will go toward building a modern export pack house and central food terminal hub, which will deliver more consistent supply for markets and greater income certainty for farmers and distributors. The plan also allocates $24 million for a new state-of-the-art abattoir and $8 million to revive and expand Barbados’ iconic Sea Island cotton industry.
Cutting Barbados’ heavy reliance on food imports remains a top national priority, Munro-Knight noted. Currently, the island imports 8.6 million kilos of agricultural goods annually, totaling $325 million in import spending. “We’ve identified 16 key products that we currently import that we can produce locally at scale, and at a lower cost than bringing them in from overseas,” she said.
To kickstart the transformation and signal government commitment to private investors, Barbados is already increasing public investment in enabling agricultural infrastructure, including a new tissue culture laboratory, upgraded veterinary and food testing facilities, support for household food production initiatives, and digital agricultural tools for smallholder farmers. “We are stepping out first to deliver food security, demonstrating our commitment by putting our own capital on the line,” Munro-Knight said. “This sends a clear signal to private investors: come partner with us, because we are invested in this transformation too.”