Change is coming to our Caribbean, the choices we make today will be the history for tomorrow. We write the future now
A Caribbean Climate-Smart Zone
The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator combines the capacity and development experience of Caribbean countries with world-class innovation and delivery capabilities.
Clearing impediments to implementation of climate-smart initiatives in the Caribbean region.
PACKAGE
We identify and package a pipeline of projects that are ready for immediate funding and implementation.
ADVOCATE
We raise awareness and ensure that the Caribbean’s Small Island Developing States (SIDS) receive assistance to become more resilient.
MONITOR
We monitor the implementation of activities to ensure solutions are more rapid, sustainable and deliver a higher positive impact.
Download our Accelerator Project Implementation Overview
We identify climate-action needs, then help package projects to match
This is what we are looking for:
The Accelerator
The Accelerator is an entrepreneurial engine that catalyzes and accelerates priority initiatives toward a Climate-Smart Zone, delivering resilience, social development, and broad-based economic growth for the Caribbean.
Our central objective is to help transform the region’s economy by fast-tracking sound public and private investment opportunities that support climate action and economic growth through sustainable development.
Drawing on the deep experience of our nations and institutions, a group of twenty-seven visionary Caribbean Governments, alongside some of the largest global companies, financial institutions, and foundations have joined the Accelerator to make the Caribbean a beacon of climate-smart development.
Our goals
Create a roadmap detailing the key milestones with costs, implications, and timelines for moving at pace to our desired state
Place the region on an irreversible path to generate 90% of electricity from renewable resources and electrify the transport sector by 2035
Place the region on a firm path to protect 30% of our ocean and land by 2030
Strengthen the region’s economic resilience against exogenous shocks by building climate action as an economic industry
Our approach
Convening and creating economies of scale to strengthen the ability of projects to attract resources and best practice
Structuring, implementing, and fundraising for blended financial facilities to deliver new sources of capital and increase funding available for climate action across the region
Applying innovation to the most difficult-to-solve challenges, working with technology developers and through collaboration with other accelerators
Engaging the private sector to execute through cross-sector partnerships and other mechanisms, further enabling national governments to focus on policy development
A small, diverse group of stakeholders with extensive experience across the Caribbean and beyond in both the public and private sectors.
Dr Joy St. John is dedicated and reliable, with a track record of achievements in public health systems management and development and health diplomacy. Her firm but fair style has assured her a place in networks of practise across the world.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of CARPHA from July 2019
The Executive Director provides leadership and Direction to CARPHA in executing the functions laid out in the Inter- Governmental Agreement. Along with the CARPHA team, Dr St John has led the public health response in the CARICOM region.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL of the World Health Organisation from October 2017 to April 2019, with direct responsibility at the World Health Organization for Climate and other Determinants of Health (CED) (first Barbadian to be Assistant Director General)
Former Chief Medical Officer of Barbados (first Barbadian to hold that office) for over 12 years-Top Public Health Advisor to the Minister of Health and responsible for the oversight of the management of the Health Sector
Chairman of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (first Caribbean person to do so) from 2012 -2013
Prior to creating Schmidt Futures, Eric oversaw all philanthropic and non-investment efforts for the Schmidts and directed the family office.
Named by Fortune magazine in 2010 as one of the “40 Most Influential Leaders in Business” worldwide under 40 years old, Eric previously served as CEO of Rex Group from 2015-2017, CEO of the Clinton Foundation from 2013-2015, and a partner and co-founder of McKinsey & Company’s government practice – as part of a career at the firm from 1997 to 2013.
At the Clinton Foundation, Eric led an effort to secure an endowment, develop infrastructure to support best-in-class operating practices, improve strategic planning and financial management, strengthen Board governance and internal controls, and use data effectively. During his tenure, Charity Navigator awarded the Foundation a perfect score (and four stars) for transparency and accountability.
At McKinsey, Eric was the global leader of McKinsey’s work on government innovation and an expert on the transformation of complex institutions. He counseled heads of state and former presidents, cabinet secretaries, civil service officials, and business leaders in media, entertainment, and technology. Eric also served as an advisor on performance management for President Obama’s transition team in 2008.
Eric is a senior fellow at Yale, teaching about ethics in public leadership and innovation at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale School of Management, and Yale Law School. He holds a B.A. summa cum laude from Yale and a J.D. from the Yale Law School. He is a member of YPO and the New York State Bar, and serves as co-chair of the Families and Workers Fund as well as a member of the boards of Ready, Arena Stage, and other organizations.
Jean Oelwang '87 is the founding CEO and President of Virgin Unite, an entrepreneurial foundation that builds collectives, incubates ideas and re-invents systems for a better world.
Over the last 15 years, she has worked with partners to lead the incubation and start-up of several global initiatives, including: The Elders, The B Team, The Carbon War Room (successfully merged with the RMI), Ocean Unite, The Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator, 100% Human at Work, The Virgin Unite Constellation and The Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship. She also played a key partner role in the incubation of many other initiatives such as The Audacious Project.
As part of her work over the last three decades, Jean has helped corporations put the wellbeing of people and the planet at their core, including working with over 25 Virgin businesses across 15 industries to help embed purpose in all they do. Jean also served as a Partner in the Virgin Group leading their people strategy.
Jean spent eighteen years living and working on six continents to start and help lead mobile phone companies in South Africa, Colombia, Bulgaria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and the US. She was the joint CEO of Virgin Mobile in Australia prior to starting Virgin Unite.
Jean has long explored the overlap of the business and social sectors and has been involved in both, having worked for the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife in Australia, and in numerous volunteer roles, including a year-long stint as a VISTA volunteer where she worked with – and learned from - homeless teens in Chicago. She is also the co-founder of Plus Wonder, a not-for-profit to inspire partnerships of purpose.
Jean holds a number of advisory board roles, including The Elders, The NewNow, the Sara Blakely Foundation, Last Mile Health Advisory Council, The Vatican’s Humanity 2.0, Penn State Board of Visitors, Vintro and the boards of RMI, The Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator, Ocean Unite, AID Live, Unite BVI Foundation, and Just Capital. She is also honored to be a B Team Leader.
Jean has been on the TED and TEDx stages as a host and speaker and has been the recipient of a number of awards including Bernie Glassman Trailblazer Award, the FilmAid Philanthropic Leadership Award, the Susman Sustainability Award and the 2021 Beta Gamma Sigma International Honoree Award.
His Excellency Dr. Didacus Jules assumed the post of Director General, of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States in May 2014. In this capacity he is responsible for driving the regional integration thrust towards a single economic and social space involving 10 Eastern Caribbean States.
Dr. Jules has had extensive regional and international experience, most of it focused on education, social policy and organisational transformation. He served as Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Examinations Council (2008-2014) leading a thorough modernization of the Council.
He has also served as Vice President Human Resources, Cable and Wireless, St. Lucia (2005-2008); Permanent Secretary for Education & Human Resource Development St. Lucia (1997-2008), as well as Permanent Secretary for Education and Chief Education Officer in revolutionary Grenada from 1981-1983.
He has provided consultancy services to national governments, regional and international organizations in the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and North America. He chaired the World Bank’s Vision 2020 Committee on Education in the Caribbean and has served on numerous private sector, educational, and philanthropic boards.
Simon is a senior minister in the Government of Grenada and currently holds the portfolio of Minister for Climate Resilience and the Environment. He previously served as Minister for Education and Human Resource Development, Minister of State with responsibility for Human Resource Development and the Environment, and as a Parliamentary Secretary within the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries. Simon is also a member of Grenada’s Upper House of Parliament, the Senate, where he currently serves as Leader of Government Business. Prior to his return to Grenada, Simon had a successful career spanning some fourteen years within the technology sector, holding senior executive positions in a number of industry leading companies, from Silicon Valley based technology start-ups, to major corporations including Nokia and G.E.C. Simon originally trained as an engineer and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom.
He joined the IDB in 2007 as a Country Economist, focusing on Guyana and Suriname. He was promoted to Chief of Operations and Senior Operations Specialist for Suriname in 2014, and promoted again to his current position, taking broader responsibility for the Caribbean region, in 2017. Currently, he is serving as technical lead on a program between IDB and the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator to provide and implement the additional $1 billion of funding for climate-smart investments in the Caribbean region pledged at the Paris One Planet summit in 2017.
Mr. Kamau was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Baylor University in 2005, studying economics, international development, and political science in the University Scholars program. He completed a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University in 2007, with concentrations in quantitative methods in economics, and international trade. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate at Oxford University, studying applied economic growth, driven by innovation and technical change.
Get Involved
There are multiple ways you can get involved with the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator.
Whether you’re a funder, supplier or want to make a donation, get in touch below.
THE ALLIANCE
- 8 Minute Energy
- Algas Organics
- Bill Gates
- BMR Energy
- Breakthrough Energy Coalition
- Bridgeway Foundation
- Cave Shepherd & Co. Ltd.
- Clinton Foundation
- Committee on Sustainability Assessment
- Chris Hohn, TCI Fund Management
- CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility)
- Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
- Environmental Services Inc.
- Envision Energy
- Fahr LLC
- Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
- Government of Canada
- Harneys
- Ionian Management Inc.
- Long Haul Capital Group LLC
- LowCarbon.com
- Mats Granryd, GSMA
- Munich Climate Insurance
- Organisation of American States (OAS)
- PwC
- Risk Cooperative
- Sutter Securities
- Swiss Re
- Willis Towers Watson
- Writing Legends
- TBWA\Melbourne
COALITION COUNTRIES
- Anguilla
- Antigua & Barbuda
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bonaire
- Bermuda
- British Virgin Islands
- Costa Rica
- Curacao
- Dominican Republic
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Montserrat
- Panama
- St. Kitts & Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St Vincent & The Grenadines
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turks and Caicos
- US Virgin Islands
PARTNERS
- Airbnb
- Boston Consulting Group
- BITT Digital Inc
- Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship, Kingston
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
- Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA)
- Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
- Global Facility for Disaster Reduction & Recovery (GFDRR)
- Government of Canada
- Green Climate Fund (GCF)
- Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB)
- Ocean Unite
- Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
- PwC
- Sir Richard Branson
- Source Global PBC
- TBWA\Melbourne
- Templeton World Charity Foundation
- The ELMA Caribbean Foundation
- The Nature Conservancy
- Tides Foundation
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- Rocky Mountain Institute
- University of the West Indies
- Virgin Unite
- Virgin Group
- World Bank Group (WBG)
- Wyss Foundation
