Climate compatible development: pathway or pipe dream?

The paper examines the 'wicked problem' of aligning poverty eradication with climate mitigation and adaptation. It proposes 'climate compatible development' as an analytical framework that integrates mitigation, adaptation, and economic transformation. The author emphasizes that achieving 'zero poverty, zero emissions' requires strong policy leadership, careful design to manage winners and losers, and cross-government implementation to avoid 'pilot phase syndrome'.

• The combined goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement create a 'wicked problem' requiring a transition to 'zero poverty, zero emissions'—eradicating poverty by 2030 and achieving zero net CO2 emissions by approximately 2070.
• Current national commitments under the Paris Agreement are insufficient; the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) only cover between 22% and 33% of the emissions reductions needed by 2030 to limit warming to 2°C.
• Climate compatible development is defined as a framework where mitigation, adaptation, and development strategies are embedded within broader economic transformations, which include shifts in trade sectors, international prices, and competitive advantages.
• Economic transformation can create specific opportunities and risks for developing nations: for example, Bolivia may benefit from lithium demand for batteries, while island economies dependent on tourism may suffer from rising air transport prices.
• Effective policy design for climate compatible development must manage the transition to avoid harming the poor, as most policy changes create winners and losers; the author cites Morocco's staged reduction of energy subsidies and Australia's carbon pricing mechanisms as examples of managed transitions.

APA

Maxwell, S. (2016). Climate compatible development: pathway or pipe dream? Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CDKN_OpinionPaperPr3Final_WEB-2.pdf

Chicago

Maxwell, Simon. Climate compatible development: pathway or pipe dream? Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2016. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CDKN_OpinionPaperPr3Final_WEB-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maxwell |first1=Simon |title=Climate compatible development: pathway or pipe dream? |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=February 2016 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CDKN_OpinionPaperPr3Final_WEB-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 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 = feb, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CDKN_OpinionPaperPr3Final_WEB-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }