PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said it is morally imperative that Caribbean and Latin American countries support the Bridgetown Initiative, a global climate finance plan.

Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley unveiled the Bridgetown initiative at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2022. It would reform how rich countries help poor countries cope with climate change.

“The international financial institutions established to help countries rebuild after World War II have not yet shown the capacity to cope with the myriad, overlapping global crises we face in these times,” said Mr Davis during a speech at the 9th Summit of the ACS Heads of State in Guatemala on Friday.

“The Bridgetown Initiative envisions multilateral development banks pivoting to offer substantially more robust support for energy transitions, scaling up the use of guarantees, and increasing concessional financing for climate resilience projects. Increasing the capacity of international financial institutions to effectively respond to the challenges of the climate change era is the only way to build a bridge from today to a more secure, peaceful, and sustainable future for all citizens. And let me be clear: ensuring that countries like ours have the resources to become more resilient is not just about climate justice – it’s about common sense. For every dollar spent on climate-resilient infrastructure, six dollars are saved.”

Mr Davis discussed how climate change impacts Latin America and Caribbean countries.

“Many of our countries have become trapped in a destructive cycle, as the devastation of climate events drives up our debt burdens, leaving us with insufficient resources to build the resilience we need to face future challenges,” he said. “Our cost of borrowing also prices in the risk of future hurricanes, and so we are already paying a higher price today for the increased and more intensive weather patterns of tomorrow.”