GHG Management Institute selected to develop accreditation process and training program for verifiers under Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

The Greenhouse Gas Management Institute has been chosen as one of the service providers to support the emissions offset component of the CO2 Budget Trading Program of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The GHG Management Institute will work on the accreditation process and training program for offset project verifiers. An accreditation process is required to ensure that independent verifiers are approved to provide services to prospective offsets project developers in accordance with the Model Rule requirements. The Institute will work with ICF International, which has been chosen to work on the Model Applications and Submittal Documents, and Model Guidance Documents.

RGGI was established as a result of a collaborative effort of ten Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to work together to develop a regional carbon cap-and-trade program for the electricity sector. The GHG Management Institute, founded by the GHG Experts Network and ClimateCHECK, in partnership with World Resources Institute, Carbon Disclosure Project and Govida eLearning, is a nonprofit that offers training on the accounting and management of greenhouse gases that cause global climate change. “The professionalization of the field of GHG management and accounting is fundamental in any strategy to address climate change. Unless we measure GHG emissions, we cannot manage climate change. In order to credibly account for GHG emissions, however, we need to train and accredit professionals who meet the highest standards of expertise and ethical conduct,” explained Michael Gillenwater, Dean of the GHG Management Institute and co-author of the GHG Inventory Programs of the U.S. EPA, the UNFCCC, and the IPCC, as well as lead author of the U.S. GHG Inventory from 1997 through 2003.

“We hope that our work for RGGI will lead to more robust accreditation processes and training for GHG validators and verifiers. The professionalization of this field is so vital in enabling market mechanisms used to combat climate change to become more effective,” commented Tom Baumann, Director for Professional Programs at the Institute. According to the Gao Pronove, Managing Director, the training program for validators and verifiers at the Institute will commence in the fourth quarter. For more information, visit www.GHGinstitute.org.

About the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute
The GHG Management Institute is a nonprofit founded by the GHG Experts Network, ClimateCHECK, and Govida eLearning, in partnership with the World Resources Institute and Carbon Disclosure Project. Our mission is to train and develop a community of experts with the highest standards of professional practice in measuring, accounting, and managing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Greenhouse Gas Management Institute is policy neutral. We do not promote any specific protocol, standard or program. Our courses cover all relevant protocols, standards, programs, and guidelines.

We believe that it is vital that the population of professionals with the expertise to address GHG emissions is globally widespread. Climate change is a problem that requires a global solution. We offer financial assistance to other non-profits world wide, and to public agencies, and small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries. We are collaborating with other organizations in various regions of the world to provide training in other languages and in ways that address local conditions.

The Institute offers its courses primarily online through e-learning. It can also blend online learning with face-to-face workshops for larger groups with specific needs. E-learning gives participants a higher quality training experience, access to the world’s top experts, the flexibility to undergo training on your own time, and without the cost, trouble, and GHG emissions associated with traveling to workshops.