The importance of Bridging the Climate Finance Gap
November 4 2025: As the world gathers for COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the Green Overseas (GO) Programme, funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France, will bring a clear message: Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) are not just vulnerable to climate change, they are key actors in global climate solutions - and urgently need access to climate finance to strengthen adaptation and mitigation efforts. The GO Programme is working to bridge this finance gap, supporting OCTs in building resilience, accessing international funds, and calling for their voices to be heard in global climate negotiations.
This year’s COP, described by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the “COP of Truth”, calls for real-world progress and solutions that move beyond commitments to measurable change. For the OCTs, this moment is both urgent and defining. Facing rising seas, coastal erosion, and intensifying storms, these territories stand at the frontline of climate disruption, while holding vast marine areas that are essential to global ecological balance.
Mike Eman, Prime Minister of the Government of Aruba commented: "As I reflect, as Prime Minister of Aruba, on the issues to be addressed at COP30, I cannot do so apart from what is happening with our island friends in Jamaica, where Hurricane Melissa has left deep devastation. It is a sobering reminder of how closely our destinies are intertwined as islands in one shared sea. The crises of our century - inequality, ecological collapse, and distrust - all spring from fragmentation. We have forgotten that humanity and nature form one living system - man and his biosphere. The principle of the Common Good offers a path back: it calls us to align policy with the long arc of the common good and resilience, not short-term gain. Guided by this vision, Aruba is reshaping its institutions around a model of broad prosperity. Our decision to definitively dismantle the oil refinery and repurpose its vast site for a sustainable and inclusive new economy marks a clear turning point - from an industrial past toward a regenerative future.”
The Climate Paradox
Despite their unique vulnerabilities, OCTs face difficulties in accessing international climate finance mechanisms. Their political status, autonomous but not sovereign, places them outside frameworks designed for developing nations, leaving many without the resources necessary to build adequate climate resilience or implement effective adaptation and mitigation measures. Access to targeted climate finance is therefore critical to ensure OCTs can protect communities, ecosystems, and economies from the escalating climate impacts they are facing as island communities.
Ahab Downer, Director of the Green Overseas Programme said: “The OCTs of the EU and UK are undeniably on the frontlines of global climate change impacts. Though their administrations and peoples exhibit great and admirable resilience and adaptability in the face of climate-related adversity, substantial financial and technical support is imperative to help them meet the mounting challenges they face. The EU-funded Green Overseas "GO" Programme is proud to be proactive in helping to strengthen technical adaptation and mitigation capacities within and across these partner countries and territories and to facilitate their access to climate finance. The GO Programme is thus present at COP30 to participate in reminding decision makers across the globe that it is high time that they align to allocate requisite and necessary climate change support to these extraordinary and remarkable Overseas Countries and Territories.”
From Vulnerability to Leadership
Funded under the 11th European Development Fund, Green Overseas advocates for access to finance, strengthening local institutions, and showcasing how OCTs can lead the transition toward clean energy, biodiversity protection, and climate resilience. Green Overseas connects 25 EU and UK OCTs across the Caribbean, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Southern Oceans, as well as the Arctic. Its work focuses on four strategic areas:
● Energy Transition – supporting renewable energy adoption and sustainable grid innovations.
● Climate Resilience – investing in coastal protection, ecosystem restoration, and disaster risk reduction.
● Access to Finance – opening pathways to international climate funds and preparing high-quality project proposals.
● Capacity Building – equipping local governments and institutions with the tools to plan and implement long-term strategies.
Through these efforts, Green Overseas acts as both a bridge and a voice, linking island territories with international institutions, climate financiers, and global decision-makers.
Solutions from the Islands
Across the globe, OCTs are developing innovative, scalable solutions that transform challenges into opportunities. Examples include:
● Saint Helena is reforming its energy regulatory framework to achieve 80% renewable electricity by 2028, proving that small islands can lead on clean energy transitions.
● Turks & Caicos is assessing the feasibility of floating offshore wind farms, unlocking the potential of ocean-based renewable energy for island grids.
● French Polynesia’s Tuamotu Atolls are creating 30-year shoreline projections to guide long-term coastal adaptation on some of the world’s most vulnerable islands.
● The Cayman Islands are taking a data-driven approach to resilience through the launch of the National Resilience Scorecard Project, a first-of-its-kind tool that will guide public and private investment decisions based on their contribution to national climate resilience.
Ms Lina Tode, GO Programme Caribbean Regional Coordinator, Expertise France commented: “The Green Overseas (GO) Programme aims at strengthening the climate resilience of Overseas Countries and Territories. In this framework, the Cayman Islands Resilience Scorecard project will be a strategic tool for evidence-based planning and to provide guidance for public and private investments towards alignment with national climate resilience objectives. Mainstreaming resilience into decision making is at the heart of the GO Programme, and the Cayman Islands Resilience Scorecard project will showcase a comprehensive tool to facilitate the achievement of this objective.”
The Green Overseas team will be present throughout COP30 in Belém, facilitating dialogue, organising and participating in side events, and connecting with global partners to ensure OCT perspectives are represented in international climate negotiations.
Press Contact:
For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact: Sarah Forster, Head of Event Programming This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The GO Programme is funded by the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF). The GO Programme sets out to provide training and knowledge-sharing sessions between island stakeholders from each OCT to foster knowledge-consolidation and capacity building, leveraging each other’s best practices. GO also provides a pathway for each OCT to submit two funding proposals for energy transition projects and climate resilience.
Implemented by Expertise France since 2020, the GO Programme aims to accelerate the energy transition and enhance the resilience of the following 25 European and British Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) to climate change:
Pacific Ocean
French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Wallis and Futuna Islands.
Caribbean
Anguilla, Aruba, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Barthelemy,Saint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands.
Arctic, Atlantic, Southern & Indian Oceans
Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, Falkland Islands, French
Southern and Antarctic Lands, Greenland, Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da
Cunha, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
More information about the Go Programme is available here: https://www.green-overseas.org
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