Operationalising climate-resilient development pathways in the Global South

National and sub-national actors are grappling with how to urgently move from climate change commitments to widespread actions that drastically reduce the risks posed by a changing climate and greenhouse gas emissions driving this change in tandem with addressing socio-economic inequalities. A pivotal challenge is how to cohere and sequence interventions in light of competing priorities, changing risk profiles and deep structural inequalities. Ideas of characterising and transitioning to climate-resilient development (CRD) pathways, and away from the historically carbon-intensive, climate-vulnerable and highly inequitable development pathways, are gaining traction in science and policy domains. But how do these ideas get operationalised in practice? Especially in contexts where many people’s basic needs remain unmet, much of what happens is unplanned and unregulated, and access to public decision-making processes is limited. This paper reviews published applications of adaptation and CRD pathways approaches, focussing on those undertaken in Global South contexts. The review reflects on how issues of (in)equity are foregrounded and addressed when working with marginalised and powerful groups to identify risk thresholds, assess and prioritise options and confront unsettling trade-offs and lock-ins. Particular attention is given firstly to how scientific climate information pertaining to various time- and spatial scales is woven together with lived experiences and traditional forms of knowledge. Secondly, the institutional capacities that are needed to transition from maladaptive to more CRD pathways are considered. Building networks of intermediaries to work across social groups, sectors, disciplines and scales, fostering trust and creating opportunities for transformative action, emerges as key to realising equitable CRD pathways.