David serves as Chief Executive Officer of Verra where he oversees all aspects of the organization, ensuring the organization’s certification programs meet high quality integrity and transparency standards. In recent years David’s focus has been to expand the scope of Verra, broadening it from an organization dedicated exclusively to certifying carbon reductions to one that also identifies and develops other standards frameworks for a sustainable world. In this vein, David works to ensure that the standards Verra identifies, develops and manages facilitate the flow of capital to enable countries, the private sector and civil society achieve and demonstrate their climate and sustainable development goals. David began his work in this sector when he worked for ICF Consulting in 1994 providing technical advice to Latin American countries developing their GHG inventories and serving on the team that pioneered verification procedures for emission reduction projects. In 1999 David joined the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Mexico as its global climate change advisor overseeing the development of an energy-sector grid emission factor and baseline studies for forest protection efforts. In 2003, David joined EcoSecurities in Oxford (UK) where he led a joint venture to develop landfill gas-to-energy projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). At EcoSecurities David also spearheaded the company’s efforts in the voluntary market, helping to identify key infrastructure and procedural needs that the voluntary carbon market lacked in the early days of its existence.
Amy serves as a sustainability strategy director at Boeing and in board leadership roles. She has over two decades of global experience in ESG (environmental / social governance), climate finance, sustainability, technology innovation / commercialization, business partnerships, public affairs & complex regulatory matters, media relations, legal, and human resources.Amy has deep experience in carbon markets. She led the carbon offsets strategy for Boeing’s first net zero target achievement in 2020. She is currently serving on the Taskforce for Voluntary Carbon Markets launched by Mark Carney, Special Envoy to the UN for Climate Finance. She was on the aviation industry delegations to the Paris climate talks and prior UNFCCC conferences, as well as a leader in creating aviation’s groundbreaking carbon emissions agreements adopted by world governments: CORSIA (Carbon Offset Scheme for International Aviation) and the CO2 standard for aircraft, both under the auspices of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization). These agreements governing sectoral international emissions are the first of their kind, serving as novel models for future frameworks.Amy is a licensed attorney and previously worked in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami, Bachelor / Master of Arts from Virginia Tech in Political Science / International Development, & Certificates in Human Rights from the International Institute of Human Rights & Sustainable Business from the Presidio Graduate School.
Cynthia Cummis is the Director of Private Sector Climate Mitigation in WRI's Business Center. In this role she leads the institute’s work with businesses to reduce GHG emissions, including the Science Based Targets initiative, which she co-founded, and GHG Protocol’s suite of corporate GHG accounting and reporting standards. Cynthia was formerly Deputy Director of GHG Protocol and led the development of the Corporate Scope 3 (Value Chain) Accounting and Reporting Standard and the Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard. Ms. Cummis is a well-known expert in GHG accounting and brings more than 18 years of experience working on the issue of global climate change. Prior to WRI, Cynthia was the Director of Carbon Management at Clear Carbon Consulting where she managed carbon quantification and management projects for multiple Fortune 500 clients as well as large public institutions. Ms. Cummis was the Founding Director of U.S. EPA’s Climate Leaders Program, a voluntary program that partnered with businesses to develop corporate-wide greenhouse gas inventories and reduction goals. For more than 5 years, she led the design and implementation of the program and oversaw the growth of the program to more than 90 corporate Partners. Cynthia holds a MPA in environmental policy from Columbia University in New York City and a B.S. from Cornell University in Ithaca N.Y.
As Chief Technical Officer at Gold Standard, Owen Hewlett is responsible for the development of all innovations, standards, methodologies and tools at Gold Standard, including a suite a tools to manage Scope 3 emissions. Owen led the development of the pioneering ‘Gold Standard for the Global Goals’, a first of kind impact-standard focused on accelerating progress to the Paris Agreement + the Sustainable Development Goals. Owen is a member of the Science Based Targets Technical Advisory Group, the GHG Protocol's Advisory Committee for Carbon Removals and Land Sector Initiative, and Mark Carney's Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets.
Emily is an analyst in the European carbon research team at BloombergNEF. Her analysis focuses on the EU ETS and its wider role in international climate policy. She has previous experience as a WCI market analyst and as a sustainability consultant.
Kelley Kizzier is Vice President for Global Climate at Environmental Defense Fund, where she leads EDF’s work to promote ambitious and effective global climate action in multilateral forums including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the International Maritime Organization.Kelley joined EDF in 2019, bringing a deep knowledge on the design and performance of international carbon markets and the related issues of emissions accounting, tracking and reporting. She recently served as the UNFCCC co-chair for the UN climate negotiations under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Prior to joining EDF, Kelley worked as an independent consultant, her clients including the World Bank, the Western Climate Initiative, and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.Kelley worked on EU and international climate issues for many years as a senior official at the European Commission’s Directorate for Climate Action in Brussels, and at the Irish Environmental Protection Agency in Dublin. Kelley has been an EU negotiator in the UNFCCC for the past 15 years, negotiating issues related to international cooperation through carbon markets, transparency and accounting for the Framework Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and ultimately, the Paris Agreement.
Lars Kroijer is the founder and managing director of AlliedCrowds – the leading directory and aggregator of alternative capital into the world’s 132 lower and middle income countries. He is also leading the AlliedOffsets initiative, a data aggregator and registry for carbon offset markets. He is the author of "Money Mavericks - Confessions of a Hedge Fund Manager" and “Investing Demystified – How to Invest without Speculation and Sleepless Nights”. Kroijer currently serves on the advisory board of alternative investment funds in London, New York, and Hong Kong. He has frequently appeared as a finance expert on a broad range of media, including BBC, CNN, CNBC, FT, Bloomberg, Reuters, NY Times, Forbes, etc. Previously, Kroijer was the CIO of Holte Capital Ltd, a London-based market neutral special situations hedge fund which he founded in 2002 before returning external capital in the spring of 2008. Prior to establishing Holte Capital, Kroijer served in the London office of HBK Investments focusing on special situations investing. In addition, he previously worked at SC Fundamental, a value-focused hedge fund, and the investment banking division of Lazard Frères, both in New York.
Chris joined Standard Chartered in 2011 and provides commodity risk management services to the Bank’s clients across EMEA. He is currently a member of the operating team for the Taskforce for Scaling the Voluntary Carbon Markets, chaired by SCB’s CEO, Bill Winters as well as the CLPC’s Net Zero Taskforce and the SMI’s Financial Services Taskforce. Chris’s experience in the commodity industry spans over 25 years in sales and trading. At Standard Chartered, he built up the Bank’s energy risk management platform, providing services for state-owned and merchant refiners, oil producers, airlines, utilities and shipping companies.
Previously Chris was with Barclays where he was Global Head of Environmental Markets Sales and before that at Merrill Lynch where he traded power, gas and set up their carbon emissions trading desk. He was a founder member of the Carbon Markets and Investors Association (CMIA) and was the Chairman of Power Trading Forum a division of the Futures and Options Association (FOA). He also worked as a base metals trader for a number of years before moving to energy. Chris has a strong understanding of commodity trade flows, managing price risk and working with clients across commodities.
Andrei Marcu is currently the Executive Director of the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition.Andrei Marcu has vast experience in managing policy-focused organisations, creating partnerships, managing stakeholder relations and fundraising. His focus has been on sustainable development, climate change and energy. In different capacities, he has been engaged in multilateral negotiating processes and subsequent implementation action, both at the global and sectorial level. He has acted as negotiator for developing countries, coordinator for the G-77 and China, and as representative of the international business community. He pioneered cooperation between the UN system and multinational corporations when serving as Manager of Private Sector Cooperation in the United Nations Development Programme.During his career, Mr. Marcu has performed at the highest managerial level, both in business organisations and in non-profit organisations. This includes: Sr. Vice President and Head of Regulatory and Policy Affairs at Mercuria Energy Group; CEO of Bluenext, a Paris based exchange; Managing Director for Climate & Energy at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in charge of Energy and Climate and as Vice Chair of the Energy and Environment Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris; Senior Associate to the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Senior Advisor on Climate Change and Emissions Trading at Bennett Jones LLP in Canada; Founder, President and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), a business association with offices in Geneva, Brussels, Washington and Toronto. Mr Marcu founded the organisation and made it into one of the leading global business NGOs and the voice of business in its field. Mr. Marcu initiated his career in Ontario Hydro, where among other responsibilities, he served as Chief of Staff for the Chairman & CEO.
General Counsel Operations & Sustainability at Nestlé- based in the company’s headquarters in Switzerland. Esteban leads a global team of lawyers dedicated to sustainability and reports to the Chief Operating Officer. Among other responsibilities, his team is in charge of the legal support to important ESG commitments made by Nestlé, such as those related with climate change, plastic packaging and human rights.
Fiona has worked as a specialist in environmental law throughout her career. She advises clients throughout the UK on a wide range of environmental law issues, including climate change and net zero, EU and UK Emissions Trading Schemes, industrial and waste regulation and permitting, energy from waste, contaminated land and remediation projects, SEA, EIA, HRA, and Water Framework Directive compliance, water resources management planning and the Ofwat SRO process. Fiona assists clients with regulatory advice, bespoke commercial contracts, strategic advice and project future-proofing, and provides specialist support for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and major development.
Marc Sadler is the Manager of the Climate Funds Management unit at the World Bank. The unit manages climate and carbon trust funds housed at the World Bank covering land-use, forestry, renewable energy, energy efficiency, as well as the relationship with the Montreal Protocol, the Global Environmental Facility and the Green Climate Fund. His previous roles with the World Bank include Adviser on Risk and Markets and Global Lead for Climate Smart Agriculture in the Agriculture Global Practice. Before this, Marc was a consultant for the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Central Asia, Caucasus and Turkey on issues related to agribusiness and sectoral policy. Prior to that, he was a commodities trader based out of the Former Soviet Union. He has an M.A. in Jurisprudence from Trinity College, Oxford University.
Lambert Schneider is Research Coordinator for International Climate Policy at Oeko-Institut and a member of the CDM Executive Board. He conducts re-search on international carbon market mechanisms and GHG emissions ac-counting and is an EU delegate in the negotiations on Article 6.
Paul joined the EDF Energy Executive Team in January 2009. His teams are responsible for R&D, Strategy, Policy & Regulation, Communications, and Supply Chain activities across EDF in the UK. He also chairs EDF’s UK R&D centre. He currently serves on the board of Energy UK, the Nuclear Industry Association, is a Fellow of the Energy Institute, and is the Executive Sponsor of EDF’s BAME Network.Before their acquisition by EDF, he was Head of Strategy and Business Development for British Energy from 2003. He joined them from Accenture where he spent 17 years, latterly as Senior Partner, responsible for the UK Energy Strategy and Human Performance practices. His early career included time with Davy McKee (London) Limited, and Ford Motor Company.Paul holds an MBA from London Business School and a BSc in Engineering from the University of Bristol. He lives in South London with his wife and dog and tries to keep fit with cycling, swimming, and hockey.
As Chief Program Officer, Naomi oversees Verra’s portfolio of standards, leading implementation and evolution of Verra programs, including those related to REDD+ and AFOLU, and provides strategic input to organizational opportunities and challenges.Naomi also supervises the ongoing development of standards frameworks including LandScale, a new initiative which provides outcome-based metrics for assessing sustainable production at the landscape scale. In addition, she works to establish and oversee key partnerships for existing and new frameworks, including with donors, host countries and business and NGO partners.Naomi has been with Verra since 2009 and previously served as Chief Market Development Officer and Director for Land-based Frameworks, among other roles. She oversaw the development of the Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) framework, and managed the evolution of the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) Requirements, which is now the preeminent global carbon accounting standard for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) projects. Naomi led the expansion of the AFOLU standard to include peatlands, wetlands, grasslands, and shrublands, as well as a number of additional tools, updates, and improvements to the AFOLU Requirements.Before joining Verra, Naomi focused on quality assurance for VCS, Gold Standard, and CDM projects with South Pole Carbon and provided program coordination for climate change and environmental services programs with Conservation International. She has worked on climate and environment-related issues for more than 15 years. Naomi holds a Master’s degree in International Development, with a focus on Environmental Policy, from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.
Gavin is an entrepreneurial leader in all areas of sustainability, recognised globally as an expert in the green economy and the low carbon transition. He has a proven track record of identifying concepts and developing them into innovative commercial opportunities. Prior to joining Pollination, Gavin ran the Climate Finance Advisory function at Macquarie’s Green Investment Group which advised governments, public bodies, multilateral organisations and development finance institutions. He also represented Macquarie Group on the United Nations Global Commission on Adaption and Bloomberg’s Climate Finance Leadership Initiative. Gavin was part of the team that set up, ran and eventually privatised the world’s first dedicated green finance institution, the UK Green Investment Bank, which was subsequently bought by Macquarie. He began his career at BP before moving to Morgan Stanley and Rabobank. A pioneer, he worked at the inception of the European Emissions Trading Scheme and United Nations Clean Development Mechanism. Gavin is a Senior Advisor to the UK Government’s Partnership for Accelerated Climate Transitions and a member of the Advisory Committee for the new Green Bank Design Platform currently under development at the UK’s Green Finance Institute.
With over 20 years' experience as a transactional lawyer in the UK, EU and Asia, Peter has developed a multi-faceted practice spanning commodities, derivatives, structured products and climate finance. His rare combination of commodities and climate finance expertise enables him to provide a holistic view and skillset that is crucial to support businesses in the energy transition pathway. As a partner at two very different international law firms before joining HFW, Peter genuinely understands his clients' perspectives on both the 'buy side' and the 'sell side'. He firmly applies the mantras “variety is the spice of life” and “there is no such thing as bad experience” to embrace work opportunities and to collaborate with clients to solve their problems and achieve their commercial objectives.Peter is a global market leader in his field. He has been active in climate finance and environmental products markets since 2004. He has experienced all of the 'ups and downs' of carbon markets in the EU ETS, under the Kyoto Protocol, in the pilot markets in China, the voluntary markets, UERs, RECs, ROCs and now the Article 6 markets under the Paris Agreement. Most recently, Peter was invited to join the IIF Task force on scaling voluntary carbon markets initiated by Mark Carney in his capacity as UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance Advisor to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for COP26.Peter advises on all aspects of over-the-counter, exchange-traded and structured energy derivatives and commodities, including netting, collateral management and regulatory issues. His commodity product suite includes LNG and natural gas, base metals, precious metals and power.He also advises lenders, borrowers, issuers and arrangers in the context of the derivative aspects of project finance, asset finance and capital markets products.Peter is an active member of a number of industry groups including at ISDA, IETA and EFET.