Across the Caribbean, climate change is no longer a distant threat. Small island developing states (SIDS) are already facing devastating hurricanes, rising seas and extreme heat.

For ministries of education, the impacts are clear: damaged school buildings, prolonged disruptions to learning and increased risks for the most vulnerable children, especially girls.

Yet while the education sector is among the most affected, it remains largely absent from climate finance discussions.

Accessing international climate funds is complex and highly technical, and many ministries of education lack the capacity to navigate this system. As a result, a critical opportunity to build climate-resilient education systems has gone untapped.

Closing the gap: Bringing education into climate finance

Education has been almost invisible in climate finance to date. Only one of nearly 600 projects supported by major climate funds between 2006 and 2023 placed education at its core.

This is the gap the Climate-Smart Education Systems Initiative seeks to fill, funded by GPE and implemented by Save the Children, UNESCO and the UNESCO International Institute for Education Planning (IIEP).

The Climate-Smart Education Systems Initiative works with ministries of education to identify climate risks, strengthen national planning and unlock new sources of climate finance.

By doing so, it helps ensure that children can learn in safe, resilient schools and that education systems are equipped to adapt to a rapidly changing climate.

To accelerate this effort in the Caribbean, Save the Children has partnered with the Climate Finance Access Network (CFAN) which embeds trained climate finance advisors in government ministries.

These advisors build long-term national capacity by equipping ministries with the tools and expertise to design “bankable” projects that meet funders’ requirements.

Emerging results: Building momentum in the Caribbean

• St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada (under GPE’s climate initiative)

In July 2025, ministries of education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada joined workshops organized under GPE’s climate initiative in partnership with Climate Finance Access Network.

Led by Climate Finance Access Networks advisors, sessions explored the climate finance landscape and strengthened project design skills.

Beyond technical learning, the workshops fostered cross-ministerial collaboration—helping education officials connect with finance, planning and environment colleagues.

• Jamaica (regional CFAN example)

In Jamaica, the Ministry of Education and Youth is working with CFAN to develop a Green Climate Fund concept note—an important step toward mobilizing large-scale resources for education.

This comes in the wake of Hurricane Beryl in 2024 that caused more than US$16.6 million in damages to the education sector.

Looking ahead

The collaboration between Save the Children, the Climate Finance Access Network and GPE through the Climate-Smart Education Systems Initiative is starting to shift the narrative: from education as a neglected sector in climate discussions to one that is recognized as a frontline lifeline for resilience.

The Caribbean experience demonstrates that when ministries of education are given the tools to access climate finance, they can unlock opportunities that protect learning today and prepare the next generation to thrive in a climate-impacted world.