Keith Bettinger

Dr. Keith Bettinger was appointed an Adjunct Fellow to the Pacific Islands Development Program in 2022 after previously serving as Adjunct Fellow to the East-West Center’s Research Program from 2017-2020. Keith completed his PhD in Geography at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa with a dissertation focusing on the interaction between political decentralization reforms and the management of natural resources in Indonesia. He has been awarded Fulbright Fellowships for work in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Keith currently serves as the Senior Technical Director for Climate Change for DT Global, a multinational firm that implements development projects for USAID, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO); the European Union; Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT); and New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). In this capacity he is responsible for climate change program design and implementation, business development and partnerships, and thought leadership.

As Adjunct Fellow, Keith works with PIDP and EWC colleagues on research projects and outreach opportunities in the Pacific. His research interests include climate change finance, climate-induced migration, the nexus of climate change and conflict, and locally-driven climate change adaptation.