As a small Caribbean nation ranked among the world’s most climate-disaster vulnerable countries, Belize is stepping up its push to secure critical funding for its climate adaptation and mitigation goals, with Punta Gorda set to host a landmark high-level Blue and Green Climate Finance Forum next month.
The country’s official climate action framework identifies a $1.3 billion financing gap that Belize cannot cover through domestic public finances alone, a major barrier to advancing its climate resilience and sustainable development targets. To address this challenge, Belize’s Ministry of Economic Transformation and Ministry of Sustainable Development have partnered to organize the forum, which will open the country’s Climate Week on Thursday, August 20, 2026. The gathering is designed to bridge the gap between Belize’s climate priorities and global climate finance providers and development partners.
In an interview ahead of the event, Carlos Pol, CEO of the Ministry of Economic Transformation, outlined the government’s years-long preparation to streamline access to global climate funding. Back in 2022, the administration established a dedicated Climate Finance Unit with a clear mandate to source and secure international climate investments, a move that followed repeated climate shocks that have damaged Belize’s natural and economic infrastructure. The World Bank currently ranks Belize as the sixth to seventh most at-risk country globally for severe climate-related disasters, underscoring the urgency of securing funding.
Pol noted that the government’s work is supported by recent legislative progress: the Ministry of Sustainable Development recently secured passage of a national Climate Change Bill, putting Belize’s climate agenda on a firm legal footing. Following the model of a successful 2025 forum, this year’s event will bring together climate finance stakeholders from across the globe, featuring a lineup of high-profile keynote speakers. Headlining the forum will be Gallina Vincelette, Vice President for Policy at the World Bank Group, and Gregory Watson, Division Chief for Biodiversity and Natural Capital at the Inter-American Development Bank. Belize’s Prime Minister will also deliver opening key remarks to set the agenda for discussions.
This year’s forum centers on the theme “Leveraging Sustainable Finance to Strengthen Belize’s Orange Economy, Indigenous Heritage and Community Resilience”. Unlike previous gatherings, the 2026 event is structured to integrate discussions of climate finance with strategies to grow Belize’s blue, green and orange economies, allowing the country to showcase its existing climate action work to the global community and lay out clear pathways for future investment. Pol emphasized that the forum will create a collaborative space to match Belize’s on-the-ground climate priorities with the capital and technical support needed to deliver tangible resilience gains for local communities and protect the country’s unique natural and cultural heritage.
This report is based on a transcribed broadcast from Belize’s local news, originally published on August 12, 2026.