Photo: Hon. Chris Coye, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment 

“One step forward, two steps back,” said Minister Coye in his description of Belize’s Climate Change experience 

by Marco Lopez 
 
BELMOPAN, Wed. Nov. 9, 2022 

Belize’s Blue Bond has been praised worldwide as the largest and one of the most innovative debt-for-nature swap deals to date. During a high-level session hosted by the International Institute for Environment and Development on Monday at COP27 (the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference) in Egypt, Belize’s Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Hon. Chris Coye, gave a presentation entitled “Debt Swaps for Climate and Nature.” 

During the high-level session, Min. Coye outlined the losses suffered by the country as a result of the effects of Tropical Storm Julia and Hurricane Lisa, both named weather systems which recently impacted Belize. A release from the Government Press Office states that Hon. Coye noted during his remarks that the storms have “contributed to the average annual losses of 4% of GDP” and said that this has become the norm for Belize. 

He went on to refer to the phrase, “One step forward, two steps back”, which he said is a fitting description of Belize’s climate change experience so far.

“Belize’s delegation will attend high-level meetings and interact with international institutions, funding agencies, and partners to share Belize’s experience in the face of the climate crisis and to learn about opportunities to leverage resources that will help further the country’s climate change agenda,” the release from the Government of Belize states.

Hon. Orlando Habet, Belize’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, is slated to deliver the keynote address at a side event organized by the Government of Nigeria, the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) and the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) which will focus on the role of transparency in driving climate action and finance. 

The date of this presentation is to be announced. 

Today, the Chief Agriculture Officer in Belize’s Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Victoriano Pascual, will sit as a panelist in an event focused on improving soil health and water security.

“This event will position Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as an important action for building a climate-resilient agriculture sector and provide an opportunity to discuss the successful use of Nature-based Solutions for improving soil health and water security in the agricultural sector and national policy design and actions for increasing the use of NbS to enhance climate resilience,” a release from the ministry states.