Four Eastern Caribbean nations are positioned to gain transformative support for their climate action goals through a new regional partnership designed to streamline the delivery of climate-resilient public infrastructure projects.
The collaborative program, dubbed the Caribbean Resilient Infrastructure Implementation and Skills Exchange (RIISE) Facility, was formalized via an agreement between Global Affairs Canada and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Funded entirely by the Government of Canada and operated under UNOPS management, the initiative will roll out first to four target countries: Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. A dedicated regional secretariat based in Bridgetown, Barbados, will manage incoming support requests from participating governments, coordinate logistics, and mobilize vetted specialized technical expertise to address on-the-ground project bottlenecks.
Brenda Wills, Canada’s High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, emphasized that the new facility aligns with Canada’s long-standing diplomatic and development commitment to bolstering climate resilience across the Caribbean, a region disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change despite contributing minimally to global emissions. “Canada is proud to support RIISE as part of our longstanding commitment to strengthening climate resilience across the Caribbean,” Wills said. “By helping governments deliver resilient infrastructure more effectively, build local capacity and promote specialised expertise across the region, RIISE will generate lasting benefits for Caribbean communities while deepening the strong ties between Canada and the region.”
Partners involved in the initiative note that while Caribbean governments have already laid out ambitious national agendas for climate adaptation and resilient infrastructure development, a large share of planned projects struggle to progress past planning stages due to systemic implementation barriers, including limited access to specialized technical skills, gaps in local project management capacity, and fragmented regional knowledge sharing.
Giuseppe Mancinelli, UNOPS Director for Barbados and Caribbean Coordinator, explained that RIISE was developed directly in response to repeated requests from Caribbean national governments for practical, implementation-focused support that fills gaps left by existing development programs. “Caribbean governments have clear priorities and an ambitious vision for resilient and sustainable development. RIISE will provide timely access to the specialised expertise they need to overcome implementation challenges and turn those priorities into tangible results for communities. At the same time, it will strengthen national capacities and foster greater regional collaboration,” Mancinelli said.
Unlike many existing climate infrastructure programs that focus primarily on financing or early-stage project planning, RIISE centers its support on the critical implementation phase of projects, working to complement rather than replace existing funding and preparation mechanisms. The facility will deliver customized support aligned with each participating government’s specific needs, including short-term targeted technical advice, temporary deployment of experienced infrastructure specialists, and structured cross-border knowledge and skills exchange programs.
Participating governments have been advised to engage with the RIISE coordination team early in the project planning process to unlock initial support as the program gets off the ground. The initiative is scheduled for an official public launch on September 14, 2026, during the Caribbean Infrastructure Forum (CARIF) set to take place in Miami.