WASHINGTON, DC, December 2, 2004 -- Experts from the World Resources Institute (WRI) will participate in the Tenth Conference of Parties (COP 10) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Dec. 6-17, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. COP 10 is particularly significant in light of Russia’s recent ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.  

The WRI specialists’ expertise includes climate change and climate science, international treaty negotiations, climate change, the role of developing countries in climate negotiations, emissions trading and the Clean Development Mechanism, climate data analysis and accounting procedures for greenhouse gases, and policy developments in the U.S. and the European Union. The experts are fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Hindi.

The WRI experts, who are available for interviews in Buenos Aires and Washington, DC, are:

• Dr. Jonathan Pershing, director, WRI Climate, Energy and Pollution (CEP) Program (Buenos Aires Dec. 8-16 at Hotel El Conquistador, tel: + [54-11] 4328-3012 or mobile [54-911] 5401 9196

Dr. Pershing, who will head the WRI delegation to COP 10, has focused on both US and international climate change policy; he is active in work on emissions trading, energy technology and the evolving architecture of international climate agreements. He also supervises work on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, as well as WRI's global climate change data collection effort. Prior to joining WRI in September 2003, he headed the Environment and Energy Division of the International Energy Agency in Paris.  From 1990-98, Dr. Pershing served as the deputy director and science advisor of the Office of Global Change, U.S. Department of State. He served as a principal negotiator for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, and worked extensively on US climate policy. Languages: French and English.

• Rob Bradley, energy and climate policy specialist, WRI Climate, Energy and Pollution Program (Buenos Aires, Dec. 4-15, at Hotel El Conquistador, tel: + [54-11] 4328-3012 or mobile [54-911] 5413 6267)

Bradley has been covering the activities of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change since 1998. He focuses on climate policy legislation in the European Union and he has been a member of the European Commission’s Energy Consultative Committee and the European Climate Change Programme Working Group. He has worked on wind energy issues in Argentina, examined the employment impacts of energy efficiency projects in Spain, and was the energy specialist to a global network of 350 non-governmental organizations working on climate change and related fields. Languages: Spanish and English.

• Pankaj Bhatia, senior associate, WRI Climate, Energy and Pollution Program (Dec. 12-15 at Hotel El Conquistador, tel: + [54-11] 4328-3012 or 4328-3112)

Bhatia is a leading expert in the field of corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting methodologies. He currently directs WRI’s GHG Protocol Initiative, an internationally accepted accounting and reporting standard for greenhouse gases jointly developed by WRI and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.  Under his leadership, the initiative has been adopted by Mexico – the first country to adopt the protocol.  Prior to joining WRI in 2000, Bhatia served as vice president of the Tata Energy & Resources Institute in Arlington, VA. He also worked with the organization’s headquarters in New Delhi on India’s implementation of the Montreal Protocol and the development of an environment policy for technology transfer and capacity-building for the country’s industries. Languages: Hindi and English.

• Kevin Baumert, senior associate, WRI Climate, Energy and Pollution (CEP) Program (In Washington, DC, tel: + [1-202] 729-7731)

Baumert’s research focuses on the Kyoto Protocol and climate change policy instruments, including emissions trading and the Clean Development Mechanism. He keeps track of international climate negotiations, the role of developing countries, US politics related to global warming, and statistics on greenhouse gas emissions. In 2002, he edited the report, Building on the Kyoto Protocol: Options for Protecting the Climate.”  His work on climate change related data has served national governments and international organizations since it was first released last year; a revised version of the Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) will be released on Dec. 9. CAIT (version 2.0, available at http://cait.wri.org ) contains the best information on greenhouse gas emissions and is used to analyze a wide variety of data-related climate change issues and to help support policy decisions made under the U.N. Climate Convention. Language: English.

For more information, contact:

World Resources Institute
Paul Mackie, senior media officer, +1(202)729-7684, pmackie@wri.org