SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance Delivers Capacity Building on the Economics and Finance of Climate Change Adaptation for Ministry of Finance in the Caribbean
The Resilience and Adaptation Mainstreaming Program (RAMP) convened practitioner training course on the economics and finance of climate change adaptation in Jamaica in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank and the University of the West Indies’ Fiscal Research Centre.
Kingston, 12 September 2025 – Held in Kingston, Jamaica from 8-12 September, the course brought together a group of 30 officials for five days of intensive learning and exchange on a broad range of topics, including issues such as the macrocriticality of climate change, macro modelling and data challenges, climate-sensitive budgeting and budget tagging, and adaptation finance.
The course was jointly convened the SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Fiscal Research Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI). The course provided an overview of the climate-related macroeconomic and fiscal risks facing Caribbean countries and how they can be mitigated.
Designed for officials from ministries of finance and other authorities in the Caribbean, the course combined conceptual discussions with case-based illustrations and group exercises, emphasising active learning and regional applicability. The course was delivered by two senior SOAS faculty from the Resilience Adaptation Mainstreaming Programme (RAMP), with inputs from senior practitioners from the IDB and selected faculty members from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and its Fiscal Research Centre (FRC). The first capacity building of its kind in the Caribbean, SOAS has previously delivered similar courses for finance ministries in Africa, including in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, involving local faculty from the RAMP University Network.
Under the guidance of Dr Harald Heubaum and Professor Ulrich Volz, participants explored the dimensions in which climate change can affect macro-fiscal dynamics, both as future risks emerge and as economies adapt to decarbonisation. Building on a discussion of the transmission channels through which climate change can affect public finances and sovereign risk, the course discussed potential threats, mitigation strategies, and opportunities for Caribbean economies.
The course also examined practical approaches to mainstreaming adaptation into economic appraisal, national investment planning and budgetary processes, and assessed sources and instruments for financing climate adaptation, including international climate funds, national public budgets, and private finance.
Professor Ulrich Volz, Academic Director of the RAMP University Network, emphasised: “We are glad this course was so well received and look forward to continuing and expanding our collaboration with the UWI and the IDB and deliver further courses for finance ministries in the Caribbean.”
Dr Harald Heubaum, Deputy Academic Director of the RAMP University Network, pointed to the strong interest in RAMP and its topics in Jamaica and beyond: “Caribbean economies are routinely tested by hurricanes and floods. Ministry officials and academics alike recognise that resilience isn’t optional but fundamental to fiscal stability and sustainable growth.”
The RAMP University Network is a key part of the Resilience Adaptation Mainstreaming Program (RAMP), which was conceived and established jointly by the World Resources Institute and the SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance. The objective of RAMP is to accelerate climate adaptation in developing countries by building capacity in ministries of finance, planning and economics, to understand, plan for, and finance climate adaptation actions.
Header image credit: Paul Mathew via Unsplash.
