This project aims to understand how climate compatible development is conceptualized and operationalised in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Through comparative case studies with local and international partners, the project will inform a toolkit for best practice and policy directions in climate financing.

The first aim of this project is to examine how different actors (include international intergovernmental organizations (e.g. World Bank, UNDP), national governments, private sector organizations (e.g. tourism companies), and local communities) understand the concept of climate compatible development. Building on the first aim, the second part of the project will provide a comparative analysis of the relative local effectiveness of public and private finance for climate- specific action on local community development associated with climate change.

The outcomes of this project is significant given the importance of climate compatible development and tourism capital in the Pacific Islands and the lack of work that has adequately characterized climate compatible development in the region, especially in light of private sector action. The project informs key scholarly debates on the interaction between the private and public sector in financing long-term climate change action and the practical application of new concepts in climate and development thinking. The outcomes of the project also have significant policy implications in better articulating what ‘climate compatible development’ means for Pacific Islands.