Chief Executive Officer of the Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund, VICCTF, Mr Chamberlain Emmanuel rules out government intervention in trust fund. Photo: Facebook

The VI Climate Change Trust Fund is seeking proposals from organisations to access funding for eligible community projects. Photo: VINO/File

Emmanuel, who appeared as a guest on Umoja on ZBVI 780 AM on Thursday, July 16, 2026, said the trust was created by an act of the legislature and is run independently.

“The minister responsible for climate change is the minister who appoints the board, but even the board itself came out of a process. It's a public process where the public nominates persons, and there is a process of selection, and coming out of that process of selection, it is then presented to the minister for his consideration and approval,” the CEO stated.

Gov't not get involved in the day-to-day operations

He added that government entities do not make operational decisions for the Trust, stating, “We have to submit reports to the minister to parliament, et cetera, to ensure that as per statute, we are doing what the law has required us to do, but the government does not get involved in the day-to-day operations or decisions of the trust.”

Emmanuel outlined the fund’s business plan as a balance between deploying an initial tranche of funds for urgent projects and investing the remainder to grow and safeguard long‑term resources. “For this first call, we decided on an amount that will be deployed and the rest of it to invest and secure as we move forward.”

According to Emmanuel, the fund has received roughly $6 million to date, a figure he described as the portion the Trust is custodian of, amounting to 40% of levy proceeds. The remaining 60%, he said, has been allocated to tourism interests and the National Trust.

The VI Climate Change Trust Fund is seeking proposals from organisations to access funding for eligible community projects. A series of stakeholder consultations across the Territory is underway from July 20 to 24, 2026, as the Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund (VICCTF) prepares to launch its first Call for Proposals (CFP 2026-01) in August-September 2026.