David Rich

Senior Associate

Bio

David is a Senior Associate with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol at the World Resources Institute. He focuses on the development of greenhouse gas accounting and reporting standards, including GHG Protocol standards under development for climate change mitigation policies and mitigation goals. He previously developed standards for corporate value chain (scope 3) and product life cycle accounting and guidance for mandatory GHG reporting.

Prior to joining WRI, David worked at Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) where he worked on the development of the Climate Registry and state GHG emissions inventories.

David holds a Masters degree in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley.

Blog Posts

South Africa Pledges to Peak Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2025
by David Rich, Eliza Northrop and Kathleen Mogelgaard - October 01, 2015
South Africa’s newly released climate plan pledges to peak national emissions that cause climate change by 2025 and goes further than other countries on adaptation by quantifying what it will cost to adapt to climate change in light of several possible emissions scenarios.
Colombia First South American Country to Release New Climate Plan Ahead of Paris
by David Rich, Eliza Northrop and Kathleen Mogelgaard - September 14, 2015
Colombia’s new climate plan adopts a national, economy-wide emissions reduction target for the first time, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent below projected business-as-usual emissions by 2030.
Ethiopia's Climate Commitment Sets a High Bar for National Climate Action
by Kelly Levin, David Rich, Eliza Northrop and Kathleen Mogelgaard - June 11, 2015
Ethiopia’s INDC sets an excellent example for developing countries to be ambitious in their post-2020 commitment design.
INSIDER: 5 Steps to Help Countries Prepare Strong INDCs
by Kelly Levin and David Rich - April 28, 2015
A new guidance document can help practitioners through the key steps to developing climate action commitments.
Analyzing the First “INDC”: Switzerland Releases New Climate Action Commitment
by Kelly Levin, David Rich and Eliza Northrop - February 28, 2015
Switzerland announced its post-2020 climate action plan yesterday, making it the first country to officially submit its contribution to the international climate agreement to be finalized in Paris at the end of this year. It's a promising start, with the country committing to reduce its emissions 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
INDCs: Bridging the Gap Between National and International Climate Action
by Kelly Levin and David Rich - February 19, 2015
Countries are preparing their climate action pledges for the post-2020 period. Here’s an in-depth look at what INDCs are, and why they're important for curbing climate change.
5 Ways Countries Can Align their Emissions-Reduction Pledges with the Latest Climate Science
by Kelly Levin and David Rich - December 04, 2014
The latest climate science shows us what needs to happen to global emissions to have a likely chance of limiting warming to 2°C, but how do we translate these global numbers to the national level? How can a country design a contribution that is aligned with science when the 2 degree goal will be determined by the actions by all countries?
Staying on Track: A New Tool for Designing and Meeting Emissions-Reduction Goals
by Kelly Levin, David Rich and Pankaj Bhatia - November 18, 2014
The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol’s Mitigation Goal Standard, launched today, provides the first-ever standardized approach for designing, assessing, and reporting progress on a variety of national and subnational mitigation goals. The standard can help governments set emissions-reduction targets, meet domestic and international emissions reporting obligations to groups like the UNFCCC, and ensure that efforts to reduce emissions are actually achieving their intended results.
How to Calculate Policies’ Effects on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by David Rich, Kelly Levin and Pankaj Bhatia - November 18, 2014
Tunisia launched its renewable energy program in 2010 to scale up solar photovoltaic systems and used the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol’s Policy and Action Standard—to find out just how much the program would reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Released for Review: New Standards for Tracking GHG Emissions from Policies and Goals
by David Rich and Jared Finnegan - December 19, 2012
With the latest round of global climate negotiations at an end, many countries, states, and cities around the world are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through mitigation policies and goals. Decision-makers need to understand the emissions impacts associated with these initiatives in order to evaluate effectiveness, make sound decisions, and assess progress.

However, there is currently little consistency or transparency in how such analysis is done. WRI aims to address this situation through forthcoming Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol standards for mitigation accounting, which have recently been released for review.

The Need for Accounting Standards for Mitigation Policies and Goals

To date, no standardized approach has existed for quantifying the GHG effects of policies and actions and tracking performance toward mitigation goals. For example, there is an ongoing debate on whether the United States is on track to meet its goal of reducing emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. A recent study by Resources for the Future found that the United States is on track to meet its goal. However, the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2013 Annual Energy Outlook expects carbon dioxide emissions to be only 9 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 as a result of policies currently in place. This difference in findings reflects differences in assumptions about the emissions impacts of policies, such as performance standards for power plants and vehicle fuel efficiency standards. These variations have very real policy implications for the degree to which the United States needs to ramp up actions to meet its 2020 goal.

Publications

Designing and Preparing Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)
This report guides countries on the preparation and design of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), including detailed technical guidance and process-related considerations.

It walks practitioners through the choices they will face in preparing and designing their INDCs,...
by Kelly Levin, David Rich, Dennis Tirpak, Heather McGray, David Waskow, Yamil Bonduki (UNDP), Michael Comstock (UNDP), Ian Noble and Kathleen Mogelgaard - May 2015

publication
Topics: Climate, COP 21, INDCs
Mitigation Goal Standard
An Accounting and Reporting Standard for National and Subnational Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals
The GHG Protocol Mitigation Goal Standard provides guidance for designing national and subnational mitigation goals and a standardized approach for assessing and reporting progress toward goal achievement.

...
by Kelly Levin, Jared Finnegan, David Rich and Pankaj Bhatia - November 2014

publication
Topics: Climate, COP 21, COP 20
Policy and Action Standard
An Accounting and Reporting Standard for Estimating the Greenhouse Gas Effects of Policies and Actions
The GHG Protocol Policy and Action Standard provides a standardized approach for estimating and reporting the change in GHG emissions and removals resulting from policies and actions.

Order free...
by David Rich, Pankaj Bhatia, Jared Finnegan, Kelly Levin and Apurba Mitra - November 2014

publication
Topics: Climate, COP 21, COP 20
Ex-Ante Clarification, Transparency, and Understanding of Intended Nationally Determined Mitigation Contributions
Discussions are being initiated this month at the UNFCCC negotiating session in Bonn, Germany on the types of information that will be needed to understand the nationally determined contributions Parties put forward for the post-2020 period under the emerging 2015 Agreement.

This working...
by Kelly Levin, David Rich, Jared Finnegan and Yamide Dagnet - March 2014

publication
Topics: Climate
Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard
This standard provides requirements and guidance for companies and
other organizations to quantify and publicly report an
inventory of GHG emissions and removals associated
with a specific product.

by Pankaj Bhatia, Cynthia Cummis, Laura Draucker, David Rich, Holly Lahd and Andrea Brown (WBCSD) - October 2011

publication
Topics: Climate, Business
Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard
This standard (also referred to
as the Scope 3 Standard) provides requirements and
guidance for companies and other organizations to
prepare and publicly report a GHG emissions inventory
that includes indirect emissions resulting from value
chain activities (i.e.,...
by Pankaj Bhatia, Cynthia Cummis, David Rich, Laura Draucker, Holly Lahd and Andrea Brown (WBCSD) - October 2011

publication
Topics: Climate, Business
Designing a U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Registry
This policy brief looks at the rationales for a national greenhouse gas registry in the United States, draws comparisons to other reporting programs and proposals, and makes recommendations on key design questions.

by David Rich - February 2008

publication
Geography: United States

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David Rich

South Africa Pledges to Peak Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2025

Colombia First South American Country to Release New Climate Plan Ahead of Paris

Ethiopia's Climate Commitment Sets a High Bar for National Climate Action

INSIDER: 5 Steps to Help Countries Prepare Strong INDCs

Analyzing the First “INDC”: Switzerland Releases New Climate Action Commitment

INDCs: Bridging the Gap Between National and International Climate Action

5 Ways Countries Can Align their Emissions-Reduction Pledges with the Latest Climate Science

Staying on Track: A New Tool for Designing and Meeting Emissions-Reduction Goals

How to Calculate Policies’ Effects on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Released for Review: New Standards for Tracking GHG Emissions from Policies and Goals

The Need for Accounting Standards for Mitigation Policies and Goals

Designing and Preparing Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)

Mitigation Goal Standard

An Accounting and Reporting Standard for National and Subnational Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals

Policy and Action Standard

An Accounting and Reporting Standard for Estimating the Greenhouse Gas Effects of Policies and Actions

Ex-Ante Clarification, Transparency, and Understanding of Intended Nationally Determined Mitigation Contributions

Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard

Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard

Designing a U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Registry

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