Between Earthquake and Exodus: Haiti’s ESG Struggle for Stability, Sovereignty, and Climate Resilience

In the hills above Port-au-Prince, the sun rises over a city fraying at the edges. Amid the sound of roosters and distant gunfire, Haiti wakes to another day of uncertainty—governed not by elected officials, but by resilience, remittances, and resolve. The country has no functioning parliament, no regular elections, no armed forces. What it does have are 13 million people navigating the aftermath of disaster, dictatorship, and dependence—with climate change now adding a cruel urgency.

Haiti is the most climate-vulnerable country in the Western Hemisphere. It is also among the poorest, the most deforested, and the most politically fragile. And yet, within this crucible of crisis, a quiet ESG story is emerging—one defined less by compliance than by survival, less by frameworks than by frontline adaptation.

“ESG in Haiti is not about metrics. It’s about whether a child can go to school without walking past burning tires. Whether a woman can access clean water and safety. Whether a hillside can hold during the next storm,” says a local development expert in Cap-Haïtien.

1. ESG in Context: A Republic on the Edge

• GDP (2024 est.): $14.6 billion (PPP)

• Population: ~11.7 million

• GDP per capita (nominal): ~$1,300

• Poverty rate: ~60%

• Inflation (2024 est.): ~25%

• Public debt-to-GDP: ~25%

• Remittances: ~24% of GDP

Haiti is:

• A republic without representation, currently ruled by transitional governance structures

• The first Black republic in the world—and still paying for that revolutionary legacy

• Heavily dependent on foreign aid, remittances, and NGOs

• A country where climate, governance, and inequality converge in brutal symmetry

Its ESG challenge is not implementation—it is existence under extreme constraint.

2. Environmental Sustainability: Fragile Landscapes and Climate Frontlines

2.1 Climate Vulnerability and Natural Disasters

Haiti faces compound climate threats:

• Ranked among the top 5 most climate-vulnerable nations globally

• Hit by multiple Category 4+ hurricanes in the past decade

• Earthquakes (2010, 2021) devastated infrastructure and killed hundreds of thousands

• Deforestation rate: over 98% of primary forest lost, worsening floods and landslides

Climate impacts:

• Water scarcity in Port-au-Prince and rural south

• Soil erosion from hillside farming and charcoal demand

• Coastal degradation threatening fishing and tourism livelihoods

Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC, 2021):

• Target: 31% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 (conditional)

• Sectors: energy, agriculture, waste, forestry

• Requires $8.3 billion in external climate finance to implement

2.2 Energy and Resource Challenges

Energy profile:

• Over 70% of electricity is fossil-fuel based

• Less than 45% of population has access to electricity

• Grid loss rate: ~50%, among the highest globally

• Heavy reliance on diesel generators and charcoal

Green shifts (nascent but critical):

• Solar microgrids piloted in rural communes

• UNDP and IDB-backed mini-hydro and battery storage projects

• Potential for geothermal and wind remains untapped due to insecurity

Barriers:

• Absence of functioning national utility

• Fuel imports monopolized by elites and gangs

• No national energy strategy adopted since 2017

3. Social Sustainability: Survival, Solidarity, and Systemic Exclusion

3.1 Human Development and Basic Services

• HDI: 0.535 (2023) – among the lowest in the Americas

• Life expectancy: ~64 years

• Literacy: ~61% (higher among youth)

• Access to clean water: ~57%

• School enrollment: improving, but dropout rates high, especially for girls

Public services are often delivered by NGOs, not the state. In many rural areas, health clinics, schools, and water systems are operated by:

• Churches

• UN agencies

• Local cooperatives

Social fragility:

• Gender-based violence widespread and underreported

• Child labor and trafficking persist in informal sectors

• Gang rule displaces over 300,000 people (2024 est.), many living in camps

3.2 Migration, Remittances, and Diaspora Dynamics

• Over 1.6 million Haitians live abroad—mostly in the U.S., Canada, and Dominican Republic

• Remittances = lifeline for ~50% of households

• Youth migration surging amid insecurity and joblessness

Diaspora role:

• Funding schools, clinics, and solar startups

• Pushing for governance reform and ESG accountability

• Often bypasses formal institutions due to corruption and inefficiency

4. Governance: Fragile Institutions, Resilient Communities

4.1 Political Breakdown and Transitional Governance

• No elected government since 2021

• Parliament dissolved, president assassinated, judiciary paralyzed

• A transitional council is currently preparing for elections (possibly 2025)

• Gang control over up to 60% of Port-au-Prince

Governance weaknesses:

• Corruption entrenched at all levels

• Donor fatigue and coordination failure

• Rule of law undermined by impunity and violence

Still, local governance shows promise:

• Mayors and communal councils often fill state voids

• Civil society networks coordinate disaster response

• Traditional leaders and women’s cooperatives mediate resource use

4.2 ESG Policy and Institutional Gaps

• No national ESG framework or sustainability reporting standard

• No stock exchange or capital market to regulate

• Ministry of Environment underfunded but active in climate diplomacy and GCF engagement

International support:

• GCF Readiness projects underway

• World Bank, UNDP, and IDB supporting adaptation planning and climate data systems

• NGOs piloting ESG-aligned impact metrics at community level (e.g., Fonkoze, SOIL)

5. ESG Finance: Donor-Driven, Community-Rooted

5.1 Climate and Resilience Finance

Haiti receives ~$500 million/year in climate and disaster finance, mostly via:

• World Bank, Green Climate Fund, EU, USAID, Canada, and UN agencies

• Focus areas:

  
  

  • Reforestation and watershed management

  • Solar-powered health and water services

  • Disaster-proof housing and early warning systems

Blended finance:

• IFC and IDB Invest exploring micro-solar and SME resilience funds

• Diaspora bonds under discussion, but trust in public finance remains low

5.2 Community Finance and ESG Innovation

Innovative approaches:

• Savings-and-loan cooperatives funding women-led climate adaptation projects

• Mobile money platforms (e.g., MonCash) used for cash-for-resilience programs

• NGOs issuing impact reports aligned with SDGs, even in the absence of regulation

Example:SOIL Haiti (waste-to-compost social enterprise) tracks:

• Emissions avoided

• Sanitation access improved

• Organic fertilizer distributed to farmers

6. ESG Case Studies: Haiti in Motion

Case Study 1: Solar Microgrid in Les Anglais

• Community-owned 120 kW solar system

• Powers clinic, school, and 100+ households

• Managed by local cooperative with NGO and diaspora support

• Resilience tested post-earthquake and hurricane—with success

Case Study 2: Reforestation in Fonds-Verrettes

• 1 million trees planted since 2018

• Targeting erosion-prone hillsides

• Run by youth groups and faith-based networks

• Carbon measurement underway for voluntary offset certification

Case Study 3: Gender-Climate Cooperatives in Artibonite

• Women-led groups managing irrigation, composting, and seed banks

• Supported by UN Women and FAO

• Combines climate adaptation + food security + women’s rights

7. Comparative ESG Snapshot: Caribbean Peers

Indicator (2023)	Haiti	Dominican Republic	Jamaica	Cuba	Barbados
GHG per capita (tCO₂e)	~0.3	~2.1	~2.9	~2.5	~3.7
Renewable electricity (%)	~5%	~19%	~20%	~95%	~20%
ESG regulation	No	Partial	Partial	No	Yes
Sovereign green bond issued	No	No	No	No	Yes
TI Corruption Rank (2023)	171/180	123	69	N/A	29

*Haiti has lowest emissions, lowest capacity, and highest vulnerability—yet remains underfinanced and underrepresented in global ESG discussions.

8. Strategic ESG Risks and Opportunities

Risks

• Climate-exacerbated displacement and food insecurity

• Governance vacuum and donor distrust

• Violence disrupting ESG project implementation

• Brain drain and elite capital flight

Opportunities

1. Scale solar microgrids and water systems in off-grid zones

2. Formalize and fund community-based climate cooperatives

3. Build diaspora ESG platforms for remittance-backed impact investing

4. Strengthen climate adaptation finance access via GCF and regional banks

5. Pilot ESG metrics for NGOs and informal enterprises in the absence of national frameworks

   
   

Conclusion: A Nation of Fracture and Flame, Yet Still Standing

Haiti is not an ESG case study in success. But it is a study in what ESG must mean when survival is on the line. It is where sustainability is not a balance sheet—it is a lifeline.

In the rubble of past disasters and the shadow of future storms, Haiti persists. It improvises. It organizes. It adapts. And in that, there is ESG—not as a checklist, but as a cry for justice.