Barbados and the OPEC Fund for International Development have launched a new initiative aimed at helping climate-vulnerable countries secure more affordable financing for development and climate resilience projects, as Bridgetown continues to press for reforms of a global financial system seen as penalising those most exposed to climate shocks.

The Vulnerability to Viability (V2V) Compact was unveiled at the OPEC Fund Development Forum in Vienna, Austria, bringing together 78 climate-vulnerable economies and more than 15 development finance institutions in a bid to improve access to capital for countries on the front line of the climate crisis.

The initiative comes amid longstanding concerns from small island developing states and other vulnerable nations that they face high borrowing costs despite contributing little to global greenhouse gas emissions, while remaining among the most exposed to hurricanes, droughts, flooding and other climate-related shocks.