Caribbean Green Infrastructure Conference 2025

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Caribbean Green Infrastructure Conference (CGIC) 2025

IAMovement and The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited are proud to present the 2nd edition of the Caribbean Green Infrastructure Conference (CGIC2025) with a focus on “Green Bonds and Carbon Credits”.

The Hybrid on-and-offline 2-day event took place physically in Trinidad & Tobago on January 23rd and 24th 2025 at the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business at Mt. Hope, Trinidad. The conference was also fully available through online streaming and facilitated participation from stakeholders across the Caribbean and Latin American regions and beyond.

Online participation was free while in-person participation entailed a full 2-day Conference Event at the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business Mt. Hope, Trinidad, which included site visits in the afternoon of Day-2 which was facilitated through shuttles from the conference venue for registered participants.

View the CGIC Session Recordings

Impact Report (PDF)

Conference Brief (PDF)

Conference Summary

Background & Context

The first edition of the CGIC was held by IAMovement in Partnership with the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited at Port of Spain, Trinidad from October 25th to 26th 2022 under the theme “Investing to scale: The Vetiver System Case Study”.

CGIC 2022 was immensely successful with over 500+ attendees across 20+ other countries regionally and internationally. The inaugural conference focused primarily on two (2) key areas: Green Infrastructure and Green Finance. While a particular focus was placed on Green Infrastructure Projects under the 2022 conference theme,CGIC 2025 held a greater focus on Green Finance. To learn more about the past, successful Caribbean Green Infrastructure Conference 2022 click here.

The Caribbean and Latin American region is the 2nd most disaster-prone region in the world with 152 Million people affected by 1,205 disasters between 2000-2019 (OCHA 2020). These losses over the region average approximately 1.5BUSD per year (World Bank 2018), highlighting the urgent need for innovative and robust financial mechanisms for adapting and enhancing climate resilience in the Latin American Caribbean Region.

Building on the keen interest expressed by relevant experts, stakeholders and participants in CGIC 2022 and with critical need for the greater understanding for different Green Financing mechanisms which are currently available, the Caribbean Green Infrastructure Conference 2025 served as a dynamic platform for regional and international stakeholders to explore the potential of green bonds and carbon credits, alongside other relevant green financing opportunities, to drive sustainable development across the Caribbean. This conference showcased innovative new green financing approaches, while also highlighting successful green infrastructure projects which can be replicated and scaled, to foster collaboration and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future in the Caribbean.

Lead Partners

As IAMovement hits its 10-year Anniversary mark, it hosted the 2nd Caribbean Green Infrastructure Conference (CGIC 2025) to address the critical topic of Green Finance with a focus on two lesser-known approaches in our local and regional space, under the theme “Green Bonds and Carbon Credits”. IAMovement and its partners have recognized these as valuable mechanisms playing a greater role in the global space to support and bolster investment in high impact Green Infrastructure projects. Over the years, IAMovement has championed green infrastructure across Trinidad & Tobago and other Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDs), via the Vetiver System (VS) and other Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and Green Infrastructure (GI) approaches, thereby supporting the institutionalization of sustainable practices that safeguard the region’s landscapes and heritage. These efforts have led to successful collaborations and project implementations across islands such as T&T, Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Dominica, while fostering new partnerships in Suriname and Guyana. Together, these initiatives are driving a regional shift toward embedding green infrastructure and corresponding financial solutions into national policies for sustainable development.

NGC has been at the forefront of the local energy industry in Trinidad & Tobago for over 45 years, and has played a leading role in driving and advocating for the sustainable energy transition in the last decade, based on their recognition of this holding some of the greatest potential social, economic and environmental benefits for T&T. NGC has also led key conservation and reforestation efforts through their ‘No Net Lost’ initiative which commenced in 2005 and has resulted in 100,000 seedlings planted in Rousillac, Moruga, Mayaro and Rio Claro. Through this initiative NGC has supported more than 38,000 tonnes of carbon being sequestered as of 2021. NGC recognizes that reforestation activities and other green infrastructure approaches will have critical role to play in a climate-resilient tomorrow for Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean – given that projects and policies which support the greater implementation of these approaches will assist with sequestering both above and below-ground carbon, the reduction of emissions through reduced grey-infrastructure solutions such as steel and concrete, as well as the empowerment and readiness of communities and society at large to adapt to the realities of climate change.

How it went

Objectives

The CGIC 2025 conference objectives included:

Improved understanding of green bond principles, and local and regional opportunities
Discussion around challenges and benchmarks in local and international green finance access
Promotion of green bonds as effective and feasible green finance mechanisms
Exploration of local, regional and international carbon-offset opportunities and methods for project carbon credit development
Connection to organizations in need of carbon offsets with relevant providers
Encouragement of green-blue thinking in national policy through networking and information sharing

Conference Speakers

Penelope Beckles-Robinson

Ministerof Planning and Development

Brian Manning

Minister in the Ministry of Finance

Dr. Dorian M Noel

Deputy Governor - Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago (CBTT)

Tadzio Bervoets

Chairperson - UNESCO Ocean

Dr. Joseph Ishmael Khan

Chairman - The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited.

Jonathan Barcant

Chairman and Technical Director - IAMovement

Kevan Kalapnath-Maharaj

Managing Director - IAMovement

Ms. Elizabeth Bachelder

Director, Sustainable Finance Market Analytics group at S&P Global Ratings

Tobias Schulze Frenking

Cofounder and Director, Ubergreen

Anthony Vieira, SC

Trinidad & Tobago Independent Senator

Mikaela Hinds

Carbon Market Analyst and Caribbean Lead, Apala Group

Arya Mahabir

Manager, Group Sustainability – International Arrangements (Acting), Republic Bank

Tracey-A-Weekes

Manager, Financial & Strategic Investments, The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited.

Tracy Assing

Writer, Filmmaker and Communications Strategist.

Asha Javeed

Lead Editor of Investigations, Guardian Media Limited.

Dennis D Lorde III

Local Economic Development Officer, Tunapuna / Piarco Regional Corporation

Katie Taylor

Executive Director, Pan American Development Foundation (PADF)

Omar Mohammed

Lead of the Global Narrative Hive, Funders Initiative for Civil Society

Lawrence Arjoon

Event Moderator / CEO, The Heroes Foundation

Ms Ardene Sirjoo

Event Moderator / Communications Lead, The Cropper Foundation

Troy Hadeed

Author, Yoga Teacher and Social Entrepreneur

Evelina Melbarzde

Deputy Head of Delegation, European Union Delegation in Trinidad and Tobago

Anthony Ramnarine

Chairman - Green Fund Advisory Committee, Ministry of Planning and Development.

David Quesnel

Technical Officer, Vetiver TT Ecological Engineering Solutions Ltd.

Kishan Kumarsingh

Head of Multilateral Agreements, Ministry of Planning and Development, Trinidad and Tobago

Vandana Mangroo

Founder and Managing Director, Hello Green

Aaron Barcant

Project Lead, A.P. Scott's Happy Planet Organic Farms

Agenda

Download Now (PDF)

Panel Sessions

Projects

Green Infrastructure Projects

Green Bonds

Carbon Credits

Community and People

Community & People

Interactive Booths

Attendees had the opportunity to connect with relevant local partners and CGIC 2025 event sponsors through engaging and interactive booth displays on-site during Day 1 and Day 2 of the conference at the Arthur Lok Jack School of Business.

Partners and Sponsors

Lead Partners

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Bronze

A Word from Our Sponsors

NGC’s decision to partner in the delivery of this timely conference was an easy one to make. In recent years, our company has shifted focus to sustainability, guided by an extensive Green Agenda. Our mission is to support national and regional efforts to build a more sustainable future for our planet, by focusing on mechanisms to reduce our carbon footprint and enable positive social change. Education and public awareness are central to that mission, and the Caribbean Green Infrastructure Conference fits squarely within our agenda.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is devoted to improving lives across Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 1959, the IDB works with the region’s public sector to design and enable impactful, innovative solutions for sustainable and inclusive development. Leveraging financing, technical expertise and knowledge, it promotes growth and well-being in 26 countries.

Visit our website: www.iadb.org

Republic Bank is a longstanding pillar in the Caribbean financial landscape with over 180 years of dedicated service to Trinidad and Tobago. Growing ever more conscious of the impact of climate change on the Caribbean region and realising the need for urgent action, the Republic Group, in 2020, made its commitment formal by being the first and only English-speaking Caribbean bank (to date) to sign on to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking. The Bank remains committed to making Trinidad and Tobago, and by extension, the Caribbean, as agile and future-proof as possible, propelling the region further along a path of climate resiliency and overall sustainable development.

Session Recordings

The second edition of the Caribbean Green Infrastructure Conference (CGIC) 2025 with the theme of Green Bonds and Carbon Credits was held at Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, Mt Hope, from 23rd-24th January 2025, with regional and international participation through virtual and in-person participation.