Climate Compatible Development: Pathway or Pipedream?

The briefing examines the concept of 'climate compatible development' as a means to achieve 'zero-zero'—the simultaneous eradication of poverty and the elimination of net CO2 emissions. It frames this as a 'wicked problem' requiring the integration of mitigation, adaptation, and economic transformation. The author emphasizes that success depends on policy leadership, careful design to manage winners and losers, and cross-government implementation beyond environmental ministries.

• The 'zero-zero' goal aims for the eradication of poverty by 2030 and the achievement of zero net CO2 emissions by approximately 2070, requiring 'deep decarbonisation' across all sectors and countries.
• Current national commitments under the Paris agreement's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) are insufficient, covering only between a quarter and a third of the emission reductions needed by 2030 to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius.
• Climate compatible development is defined by the intersection of three elements: mitigation, adaptation, and transformation. Transformation specifically addresses how global climate change and its mitigation measures affect tradeable sectors, competitiveness, and the potential for technological leap-frogging.
• The author characterizes climate compatible development as a 'wicked problem' or 'super-wicked problem' due to its social complexity, interdependencies, unforeseen consequences, and the fact that the central authority needed to address it is often weak or non-existent.
• Effective policy design for climate compatible development must manage the transition to avoid harming the poor, as mitigation actions do not automatically provide positive outcomes for the impoverished. Examples include Morocco's staged reduction of energy subsidies and Australia's carbon pricing measures to support households and trade-exposed industries.
• Successful implementation of climate compatible development requires moving beyond the Ministry of Environment to secure full commitment from Ministries of Finance, Planning, Energy, Infrastructure, Industry, and Agriculture.

APA

Maxwell, S. (2015). Climate Compatible Development: Pathway or Pipedream? Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CPD-lecture-SM.pdf

Chicago

Maxwell, Simon. Climate Compatible Development: Pathway or Pipedream? Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2015. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CPD-lecture-SM.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maxwell |first1=Simon |title=Climate Compatible Development: Pathway or Pipedream? |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=January 2015 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CPD-lecture-SM.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maxwell2015climate, author = {Maxwell, Simon}, title = {{Climate Compatible Development: Pathway or Pipedream?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CPD-lecture-SM.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }