The Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund: Financing Resilience – Small Islands Leading with Innovative Climate Financing
Summary
SIDS are at the frontline of climate change. Overseas Territories in the Caribbean face the added challenge of not being able to access global climate financing mechanisms available to other SIDS. To meet this challenge, one of the British Overseas Territories, The Virgin Islands, has established The Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund (VICCTF) as a novel dedicated financing mechanism to mobilise, manage and channel resources towards urgent adaptation and mitigation priorities identified in The Virgin Islands Climate Change Policy. The VICCTF is an output resulting from two projects implemented by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC).
Objectives
Raise awareness of the VICCTF;
Showcase the VICCTF as a replicable model for other SIDS and developing States;
Attract donor interest and partnerships;
Facilitate dialogue among governments, multilateral funds, donors, private sector, and civil society on strengthening access to climate finance.
Speakers
Moderator and Introductory Remarks: Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director, CCCCC
Panellists:
Dr. Ronald Berkeley, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Government of The Virgin Islands
Angela Burnett Penn, Director of Environment
Edward Childs, Chairman of the Board, The Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund
Daniel Best, President, Caribbean Development Bank
Chamberlain Emmanuel, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission
Dr. Colin Young
Dr. Colin A. Young, a Belizean national, is the Executive Director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCCC) headquartered in Belize since January 2020. Prior to his appointment at the CCCCC, Dr. Young served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Social Security Board, a parastatal entity that administers Belize’s Social Security Fund, from 2017 to 2019 were he championed contribution reform, technology transformation and numerous legislative changes. Dr. Young also served as the CEO in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, the Environment, Sustainable Development where he had overall responsibilities for all of the portfolios, including climate change, other than agriculture as well as the CEO in the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology and Public Utilities from 2012-2015. Dr. Young has served on numerous boards including the Green Climate Fund, a financial mechanism under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He holds both a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Connecticut in the United States.
Dr. Ronald Berkeley
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Government of The Virgin Islands
Angela Burnett Penn
Ms. Angela Burnett Penn is an Environmental Management, Climate Change and Urban Planning professional. Her primary goal is to promote progressive, climate-resilient communities that balance environmental, social and economic goals. Angela holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development from Brandies University, Massachusetts as well as a Master of City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University, New Jersey.
Angela currently serves as the Director of Environment for The Virgin Islands. Previously, she served as The Virgin Islands’ Climate Change Officer from 2008 to early 2025. Among other things, she has authored the Territory’s first Climate Change Policy, conducted a Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment of the tourism sector to climate change, managed local adaptation projects and co-developed The Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund.
Outside of The Virgin Islands, Angela has served as the Climate Change Coordinator of the Saint Lucia Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project where she helped to manage a large and diverse portfolio of climate change adaptation projects valued over USD$74 million. In her personal life, Angela serves as a global climate change advocate. In the wake of category 5 Hurricane Irma in 2017 she published “The Irma Diaries: Compelling Survivor Stories from The Virgin Islands” as a platform for voices from the frontlines to be heard around the world to help people connect more personally to climate change and resolve to act.
Edward Childs
Edward joined Smiths Gore in 1990 having trained with Savills in London in commercial property as a Chartered Surveyor. Edward established the commercial department at Smiths Gore and was instrumental in expanding the firm’s presence in the Caribbean region. Edward is one of the few consultants in the Caribbean specializing in the sale of islands, a highly specialized area catering to HNW investors, and also provides asset management and development consultancy advice to a range of clients.
Edward’s interest in the marine environment resulted in him undertaking dive expeditions to Australia, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Far East before relocating to the BVI. His interest in the environment has led to appointments to the Board of Green VI, a local NFP, and he is also Chairman of the BVI Climate Change Trust Fund.
Daniel Best
Mr. Best is the 7th President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Region’s sole indigenous multilateral development finance institution based in Barbados. A highly professional and diverse leader, Mr. Best was a Senior Infrastructure and Development Advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister of
Barbados, seconded from his role as Director, Projects Department at CDB. With over 30 years of experience as a Civil Engineer, Project Management Professional, and Development Banker, he is known for his ability to foster strong working relationships and leading teams to success. Under his leadership, the CDB Projects Department was able to transform the lives of approximately 1.6mn Caribbean people in the areas of education, access to resilient infrastructure and expansion of inclusive opportunities to women and girls. He not only spearheaded the Bank’s collaboration outreach to other regional IFIs but also led the
development of the Bank’s first Sustainable Financing Framework and created the window to mobilise private capital for regional development. Mr. Best graduated from the University of Durham with a Master of Business Administration and holds a Master of Science in Construction Engineering and Management from the University of the West Indies (St. Augustine). He is widely recognised as a regional authority in the ideation and delivery of resilient inclusive development solutions that meet the transformational needs of the Caribbean. His leadership, professionalism, and understanding of the value of collaborative
relationships have been key to his success.
Chamberlain Emmanuel
Chamberlain Emmanuel is Director of the Environmental Sustainability Division (ESD)
at the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission and a member of the Commission’s Leadership Team.
Chamberlain leads a portfolio of integrated programmes and teams in designing, promoting and supporting more sustainable – Green | Blue | Circular | Low-carbon |Resilient - approaches to socio-economic development in the OECS SIDS.
Chamberlain has 24 years of experience in strategic leadership, international partnerships, programme management and project delivery in the context of Eastern Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Chamberlain remains “connected” through community and values-oriented initiatives
and social enterprise.