The premier has called for more international funding to tackle climate change at the start of a hurricane season that meteorologists expect to be very active.

Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley said it is “unjust” that the Virgin Islands does not receive more financial assistance in dealing with the situation, and he promised to press the territory’s case during a visit to the United Nations in New York next week.

“We are forecasting a very active hurricane season ahead,” he said during a press conference on Friday. “We recall the torrential rains that we experienced [in May]. This is the new climate reality we face. It will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to effectively adapt to the new weather patterns.”

The VI, he added, has to deal with such issues on top of other problems like high inflation, energy costs and borrowing rates.

“The Virgin Islands is one of the best examples of a small island developing state facing these types of challenges,” he said.

But despite the risks, he added, the VI has been “locked out” of most climate finance as well as general development finance because of its political status as an overseas territory.

“This is a very serious problem,” he said. “A resource gap exists where we do not have the needed resources to build up our climate resilience and sustainable development.”

Trust fund

The premier added that the VI is not simply “groaning” but has taken its own actions with initiatives like the Climate Change Trust Fund, which is supposed to be funded by part of a $10 environmental levy on all overnight tourists.

The fund — which was established under a 2015 law — has not yet been tapped, and its board was unlawfully disbanded in 2019 under former premier Andrew Fahie. But the board has since been reappointed, and Dr. Wheatley said Friday that the fund will be operational soon.

“We have re-established a Climate Change Trust Fund Board, and now we have to bring regulations to Cabinet to be passed as one of the final components of what needs to be done to access the fund,” he said. “We have maybe about $4 million ready for the Climate Change Trust Fund.”

SIDS conference

The territory’s Climate Change Trust Fund Act, he added, was hailed as “model legislation that other islands can follow” during a conference of the Small Island Developing States group he attended last week in Antigua and Barbuda.

At that gathering, Dr. Wheatley also pushed for changes to free up climate financing for overseas territories like the VI.

During the event, a new SIDS programme of action was launched with the aim of setting up an associate member forum on sustainable development supported by the UN, according to government.

Plans for UN speech

The premier said Friday that he will continue raising the matter next week at the UN in New York.

“My administration has been consistently advocating to the United Nations and other development partners to be given access to climate finance and development finance more generally based on our vulnerability,” he said. “This is the new climate reality we face. It will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to effectively adapt to the new weather patterns.”

Dr. Wheatley will be at the UN to make a statement at the organisation’s decolonisation committee.