Resilience and Adaptation Mainstreaming Program (RAMP)

Central ministries are key decisionmakers in mainstreaming climate risks into economic policies and development plans, but they face technical constraints in low- and middle-income countries on the front lines of climate change.

Mainstreaming means that climate risks are managed at every phase of policy planning, investment design and program implementation, which can improve the resilience of development outcomes and investments by ensuring climate risks are proactively considered and addressed.

A review of 100 adaptation-related programs showed that Ministries of Finance, Planning and Economics are often overlooked in capacity building efforts, and technical support from donors is frequently limited to short-term, one-off deliverables. Most current technical assistance programs support more climate- and sector-specific planning than policy support at the macroeconomic level.

RAMP will therefore equip ministries of finance, planning and economics in vulnerable countries with the needed tools and practices to integrate adaptation considerations into their core operations and better align economic development with climate change risks.

RAMP emphasizes actionable skills in policy areas that Ministries of Finance, Economics and Planning already manage around the world, so that countries will be better positioned to articulate their needs for climate finance and scale up their investments in adaptation.

With the support of international technical partners and a global university network hosted by the Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS University of London, RAMP will launch at COP27 and focus on supporting vulnerable countries in Africa during its first year in two main ways:

1. Support to Central Ministries (Finance, Economics and Planning)

RAMP will offer various training approaches across a core curriculum to build staff competencies to address macro-critical aspects of climate change, such as fiscal balances, financial sector stability, trade flows, growth, jobs and debt. This curriculum includes macroeconomic analysis, fiscal policy; adaptation and disaster risk finance; financial sector supervision; climate budgeting and public financial management (PFM); economic and financial appraisal; monitoring and evaluation; and public procurement. RAMP will also work to revise government operational manuals, plans and policies, and update the skills profiles used to recruit and train staff for these functions.

2. Support to Local Universities in Vulnerable Countries:

Through SOAS University of London, RAMP supports a global university network that helps developing country member universities improve their teaching and professional training. Through RAMP’s curriculum development, teacher training, collaborative applied research and student funding, universities can better offer high-quality, graduate-level teaching and professional training in areas important for strengthening macro-financial resilience to climate change.

The joint development and delivery of curriculum material in local universities and central ministries will foster connections between these institutions, which is crucial for the effective management of climate risks.

Cover Image by: Axel Fassio/CIFOR