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ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, February 28, 2020 (CMC) – Grenada has launched a multi-million-dollar, climate-resilient water project that Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell, has described as “ground breaking and transformational”.
The Grenada Climate Resilient Water Sector Project (G-CREWS), which has five components, seeks to improve resilience in the water sector and improve efficiency, in the use and availability of water, while guarding against climate-induced water shortages in the future.
Republic of Korea-based Green Climate Fund (GCF) is providing Euro 38.4 million towards the project, with Euro 4.2 million and Euro 2.5 million from the Grenada government and the German government, respectively.
Mitchell said the Euro 45.2 million project is the largest investment, ever, in Grenada’s water sector, and it is expected to create hundreds of jobs, thereby facilitating positive impacts on multiple fronts.
“As pioneers in the climate-financing arena, we take great pride in having G- CREWS as the first project, approved by the Green Climate Fund, for funding for Grenada, and the first bilateral project in the region.
“Grenada is at the forefront of efforts in the region, to access climate-funding and with the G-CREWS project, we will prove that we are able to implement sizeable investment projects. Over the next few years, we will carefully execute the implementation plan, and demonstrate that we have what it takes to deliver on this project,” Mitchell added.
He said Grenada has already engaged the GCF and other development partners, to build a climate-resilient nation, with the ambitious goal of establishing St. George’s as “the first Climate Smart City in the region”.
The Prime Minister identified several positive outcomes, including an increase in Grenada’s adaptive capacity, at the regulatory framework level, to cope with reduced and erratic rainfall; increased temperatures and extreme weather events; as well as increased resilience, among water-users in Grenada.
Mitchell, noting that the project’s objective to build systemic, climate change resilience, said, “in the context of a bold response to climate change and its impacts, this project is ground-breaking and timely for Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique”.
The Prime Minister also used the occasion to reiterate his call for the reclassification of countries, because per capita GDP is insufficient as a yardstick to determine eligibility for concessionary climate financing.
He pledged Grenada’s continued commitment to support climate-resilient development, on multiple regional and international platforms, such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); the Caribbean Development Bank;, the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator; the Alliance of Small States; World Bank Small States Forum; SIDSDOCK; and the Global Commission on Adaptation.
