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Jamaica’s COP30 delegation has walked away from Brazil with fresh funding prospects, a raft of technical help, and early-stage approvals for millions more in grants—aimed squarely at strengthening infrastructure and speeding recovery from Hurricane Melissa.
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On Tuesday (December 2), Climate Minister Matthew Samuda updated Parliament on the progress. He said Jamaica is now positioned to attract US$93.5 million in combined financial support.
“The outcomes position Jamaica to attract a financing mix of US$20 million. We have [also] passed the technical review stage of over a US$170 million of grant financing review from the GCF envelope which we expect to go to the Board in March and in June, based on the respective projects,” Samuda said.
Samuda explained that Jamaica met with the team from the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), which has US$250 million ready to begin rolling out on December 15, 2025. Countries can submit two projects, and request up to US$20 million total.
He said Jamaica has already signaled it will submit proposals for:
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Budget support to the Government, and
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A direct-access project, likely managed by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).
“These projects would be for the water and agriculture sectors. These meetings were highly successful. They have agreed to come on that working visit and they have indicated in writing that they would be minded to support Jamaica’s application for US$20 million, which is the maximum allowable by a country from the Fund… and we will be submitting on December 15,” Samuda added.
Energy fixes, fast funding paths
The group also held talks with the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), which operates a Clean Technology Fund track for faster clean-energy fixes. Samuda said US$50 million has been made available to Jamaica “at deeply concessional rates” to support power solutions for water systems—like solar panels, solar-powered generators, and micro-grids.
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He also confirmed a request has been submitted for an extra US$20 million in grants through CIF’s Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR)—this time led by the Inter-American Development Bank and managed locally by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).
Small farmers, big focus
Samuda said the delegation also met the head of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, and Jamaica has already received confirmation of US$3 million in grants for small-scale farmers and the fisheries sector.
“This support is immediately available to the Government, and we are finalising submission for a further US$6 million to be made available to the Government within six months,” he said.
He added that Agriculture Minister Floyd Green has been tapped to lead a new project group to finalize submissions before the December 2025 board meeting.
To help coordinate and oversee climate funding, Jamaica will form a new Climate Finance Committee, drawing members from:
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Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate Change
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Ministry of Finance and the Public Service
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Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development
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Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ)
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Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ)
English (US) ·