Financing A Blue-Green Economy For Islands

Angelique is the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles’ Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust. She has 7 years’ experience in environment conservation in the Seychelles in various capacities bringing a unique inter-disciplinary and cross-sectoral perspective to her role. Her expertise includes the ocean-climate nexus and matters relating to transboundary harm.
Angelique has always had a passion for advancing the sustainable use and conservation of our oceans. She was born and grew up in a fishing district, Bel Ombre, in Seychelles where she gained a firsthand perspective on the critical importance to preserve marine resources.

Angelique is a lawyer (Seychelles and UK) and she holds an LLM in Environmental law specializing in the law of the sea and natural resources law. Also, Angelique is a trained climate change negotiator under the AOSIS Climate Change Fellowship Programme at the United Nations.

Angelique has worked in different countries in the Caribbean, Pacific and the Indian Ocean on a wide-range of projects relating sustainable fisheries, sustainable management of marine biodiversity within and beyond national jurisdiction, and climate change, in particular, climate adaptation and climate finance. Further, she served as a legal expert of the African Group of Sixth Committee in works of oceans and law of the sea at the United Nations.

Moreover, Angelique has experience working with civil society as a co-founder for a not-for-profit organization in Seychelles and a Board member of a Commonwealth-wide youth-led organization.

James Tanner is a senior associate in the structured capital markets department of the London office of Baker & McKenzie. James specialises in debt capital markets, securitisation and portfolio sales/acquisitions of both distressed and non-distressed assets. He also has experience across a range of financing transactions and products, including sovereign advisory matters, cross-border restructurings and CLOs. His practice increasingly is focussed on sustainable finance, in particular in the Green Bond space. Before joining Baker McKenzie, James spent six years as an associate in the London and Hong Kong offices of White & Case LLP, where he also trained. He is a co-author of the article "Critical Challenges Facing the Green Bond Market" which recently appeared in the International Financial Law Review and the Baker McKenzie publication "Green Bonds - Growth and Challenges in the 144A Market".

Suzanne Shaw is Founding Director, and Impact Investment Lead, of The Leap Co., a company that supports and invests in Caribbean businesses that deliver positive environmental/social impact alongside solid financial returns. Suzanne has 15 years’ international experience in energy and environmental economics and finance. She worked as a consultant in Europe and the Caribbean, integrating sustainability in private-sector investment decision-making and in public-sector planning, in energy, transport and solid waste sectors. Previously, she worked for the European Commission, advising on low-carbon energy policy and investment decision-making. She was an adviser in conceptualizing the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator, an initiative to enhance regional climate resilience through private sector. Suzanne seeks to use investment and finance as a leverage to achieve sustainability outcomes, whilst simultaneously driving long-term private sector profitability.

Wayne Elliott is an Economic Research Analyst at the Caribbean Development Bank. His research interests are within the areas of private sector development, international finance, climate change and sustainable development. Recently, he co-authored a research piece that sought to showcase innovative mechanisms and instruments that could help to finance the development of the Caribbean Blue Economy amidst the development challenges faced by the region. Mr. Elliott holds a Master of Science in Business and Financial Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Mathematics from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus.