Climate compatible development: pathway or pipe dream?

This document is a reproduction of a lecture delivered by Simon Maxwell, Executive Chairman of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), at the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in January 2016. The lecture explores whether a pathway exists to simultaneously eradicate poverty and eliminate emissions, arguing that the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement necessitate a fundamental economic and social transformation.

• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement collectively require economic and social transformation, although the mitigation commitments established in the Paris Agreement represent only approximately 25% of what is required by 2030. Achieving the total elimination of CO2 by 2070 and other greenhouse gases before the end of the 21st century will require significantly more radical reductions.
• Climate compatible development serves as a framework for managing the transition toward poverty reduction and SDG targets while addressing large-scale changes. This framework focuses on national mitigation and adaptation, the effects of global economic transformation on individual nations, and utilizes innovation and competitiveness as key tools.
• While theoretical pathways to 'zero poverty, zero emissions' are established and offer co-benefits such as reduced congestion and better air quality, the actual transition requires the assembly of three specific elements: policy design, policy leadership, and policy implementation.

APA

Maxwell, S. (2016). Climate compatible development: pathway or pipe dream? Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/resource/climate-compatible-development-pathway-pipe-dream

Chicago

Maxwell, Simon. Climate compatible development: pathway or pipe dream? Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2016. https://cdkn.org/resource/climate-compatible-development-pathway-pipe-dream.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maxwell |first1=Simon |title=Climate compatible development: pathway or pipe dream? |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=7 June 2016 |url=https://cdkn.org/resource/climate-compatible-development-pathway-pipe-dream |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maxwell2016climate, author = {Maxwell, Simon}, title = {{Climate compatible development: pathway or pipe dream?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://cdkn.org/resource/climate-compatible-development-pathway-pipe-dream}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }