The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) can now better access funds to address climate change and mitigate the impact on Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) after the Board of the Adaptation Fund announced it had granted accreditation to the regional development funding agency. “CDB' accreditation opens gateways to well-needed grant financing which will enable our Borrowing Member Countries to proactively address life threatening vulnerabilities," said Dr. Warren Smith, President of the CDB. A major pillar of CDB' Climate Resilience Strategy is that of helping BMCs access concessionary resources to provide financing to support urgent actions required to build climate resilience. According to Dr. Smith, “accreditation to the AF is an extremely positive achievement, since it gives the Bank access to a source of grant resources to help to support urgent climate resilient investments for some of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world." The Adaptation Fund was established in 2001 under the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The AF works across seven areas: Agriculture, Coastal Zone Management, food security, disaster risk reduction, multi-sector projects, rural development and water management. The Fund has committed US$ 331 million in 54 countries since 2010 to climate adaptation and resilience activities. CDB' current Strategic Plan has building resilience to climate change as its principal thrust. This emphasis recognizes the reality that there is a probability that at least one Caribbean country has a 25 per cent chance of being hit by a major climate event every year. To achieve accreditation CDB had to demonstrate that it has the capacity to manage and provide oversight of the use of AF' resources in an efficient, effective and transparent manner. Accreditation is valid for five years. Dr. Smith noted that CDB' recent experience in preparing climate action investment projects, showed that preparation costs could increase by between 10-15%, because of the required supporting technical investigations or studies; such as climate vulnerability assessments; that are required to demonstrate the explicit adaptive or mitigation measures employed to achieve climate resilience. He expects that the Bank will make its first formal submission to the AF before the end of the 2016.