August 7, 2025: The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), CCRIF SPC – the development insurer of the Caribbean and Central America, and CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, will jointly host the 2nd Wider Caribbean Regional Risk Conference on September 3 & 4, 2025. The event, which will be held in Barbados and online, aims to catalyze concrete action to tackle the region’s most urgent and complex risks.

Bringing together policymakers, technocrats, development partners, researchers, private sector leaders, civil society, youth, and media, the conference will provide a platform for confronting the widening spectrum of risks facing small islands and coastal states. The agenda explores issues ranging from climate change and economic instability to misinformation, societal fragmentation, and emerging global disruptions linked to artificial intelligence, financial digitalization, and shifting trade dynamics.

With the theme “Perspectives on Country Risk Management to Advance the Sustainable Development of the Small Island and Coastal States of the Region,” the conference is structured to move beyond dialogue toward tangible outcomes, including regional policy statements, defined responses to systemic threats and methods for accelerating collaboration.

“We are convening this conference to sharpen the Caribbean’s response to an increasingly complex and unpredictable global environment,” said Mr. Daniel Best, President of the CDB. “The risk landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by intensifying climate impacts, accelerating technological disruption, shifting geopolitical dynamics, and rising economic volatility. If our region is to achieve truly transformative development, we must embrace innovative, coordinated, and forward-looking strategies. This conference will serve as a launchpad for decisive action.”

Conference sessions will address a broad range of challenges and responses from the rise of protectionist trade policies, and supply chain interruptions, to the developmental impacts of disinformation and AI-generated content. Other segments will explore how the region can respond to hazard risks and ecosystem degradation, with special focus on the aftermath of recent extreme weather events such as Hurricane Beryl, and how countries can scale up the use of innovative financial instruments, nature-based solutions, and urban planning tools to enhance resilience.

“The region’s risk landscape spans every dimension of life, business, and development from economic volatility and social instability to technological disruption and geopolitical uncertainty,” Mr. Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer of CCRIF SPC explained. “At CCRIF, we witness firsthand how deeply interconnected and far-reaching these threats have become. This conference is an opportunity for the region to confront them not with fear, but with clarity, coordination, and a renewed commitment to resilience.”

Building on the foundation of the inaugural 2022 event, which focused on raising awareness around integrated risk management, the 2025 edition will place stronger emphasis on implementation, innovation, and regional policy coherence. Participants will share practical approaches and develop frameworks to enhance the region’s resilience in the face of intensifying multi-hazard threats.

Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Regional Manager for the Caribbean at CAF, described the event as an opportunity to match ambition with action. “At CAF, we view risk not as a constraint, but as an opportunity to catalyze sustainable transformation. This conference is about mobilizing the Caribbean’s ingenuity and institutional strength to design new tools and deliver inclusive and resilient solutions at scale. If we are serious about safeguarding our future, we must invest in harmonized regional systems that are anticipatory and robust. This conference reflects our belief that policy and innovation must work hand in hand to mitigate today's risks and pre-empt those of tomorrow, thereby future-proofing our development progress.”

The 2nd Wider Caribbean Regional Risk Conference is open to stakeholders from across all sectors. Interested persons can register at: Registration - Caribbean Regional Risk Conference

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About the Caribbean Development Bank

The Caribbean Development Bank is a regional financial institution established in 1970 to contribute to the harmonious economic growth and development of its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). In addition to the 19 BMCs, CDB’s membership includes four regional, non-borrowing members, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela, and five non-regional, non-borrowing members, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. CDB’s total assets in its Ordinary Capital Resources stood at US2.02 billion as at December 31, 2024, while it also manages US$1.40 billion of Special Funds Resources. The Bank is rated Aa1 Stable by Moody’s, AA+ Stable by Standard & Poor’s, and AA+ Stable by Fitch Ratings. Learn more at caribank.org

About CCRIF SPC

CCRIF SPC is a segregated portfolio company, owned, operated, and registered in the Caribbean. It limits the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes, and excess rainfall events to Caribbean and Central American governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a parametric insurance policy is triggered. It is the world’s first regional fund utilizing parametric insurance, giving member governments the unique opportunity to purchase earthquake, hurricane and excess rainfall catastrophe coverage with lowest possible pricing. CCRIF offers parametric insurance policies to Caribbean and Central American governments for tropical cyclones, earthquakes, excess rainfall and fisheries and also to electric and water utility companies in the Caribbean. CCRIF was developed under the technical leadership of the World Bank and with a grant from the Government of Japan. It was capitalized through contributions to a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) by the Government of Canada, the European Union, the World Bank, the governments of the UK and France, the Caribbean Development Bank and the governments of Ireland and Bermuda, as well as through membership fees paid by participating governments. In 2014, the Central America and Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Program (CACCRIP) MDTF was established by the World Bank to support the development of CCRIF SPC’s new products for current and potential members and facilitate the entry of Central American countries and additional Caribbean countries. The MDTF currently channels funds from various donors, including Canada, through Global Affairs Canada; the United States, through the Department of the Treasury; the European Union, through the European Commission, and Germany, through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and KfW. Additional financing has been provided by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), with resources provided by Mexico; the Government of Ireland; and the European Union through its Regional Resilience Building Facility managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the World Bank. In 2024, CCRIF received funding from CDB, through the Canada-CARICOM Climate Adaptation Fund, to enable seven CCRIF members to increase their coverage and make their national social protection systems more shock responsive. More information at www.ccrif.org

About CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean

The mission of CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean is to promote sustainable development and regional integration through the financing of projects in the public and private sectors, providing technical cooperation and other specialized services. Created in 1970, the Bank has 23 shareholder countries: 19 Latin American and Caribbean, together with Spain and Portugal, and 13 private banks. CAF is one of the main sources of multilateral financing and an important generator of knowledge for the region. More information at www.caf.com