American Carbon Registry Goes West

April 10, 2012: Today the American Carbon Registry (ACR), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, unveiled a suite of initiatives directed at bolstering its California operations in preparation for the first U.S. economy-wide cap-and-trade system, set to launch in January 2013. To gear up for the California carbon market, ACR announced the hire of a California director who will work out of ACR’s new Sacramento office, the launch of a new registry platform with APX, and the appointment of four state luminaries to its Advisory Council.

ACR California director and Sacramento office

ACR California Director Belinda Morris will take the helm on the first of May. Working from ACR’s new office in the state’s capital, Belinda will lead ACR’s engagement with key stakeholders, clients and partners including relevant California government agencies, compliance offset market participants, key business leaders, and environmental NGOs. ACR’s objective is to directly support the success of the compliance offset market as part of the cap-and-trade program.

“We are extremely fortunate to have Belinda join the ACR team,” said ACR director John Kadyszewski. “She is uniquely qualified to help us ensure the environmental integrity of offsets in California based on her intimate involvement in greenhouse gas markets in the state and her understanding of the market from the environmental, policy and agriculture producer perspectives.” 

“I am thrilled to be joining the ACR team at this pivotal time in California,” said Morris. “My experience developing agriculture carbon offset protocols and working with industry to find innovative, marketbased solutions is perfectly aligned with ACR’s mission and California objective. I look forward to reaching out immediately to stakeholders to build upon ACR’s successful programs.”

Registry services partnership with APX 

ACR also announced its partnership with leading carbon market registry infrastructure and services provider APX to launch ACR’s new offset project registry. ACR’s APX-powered system, which will launch May first, has been tailored to meet regulatory requirements for the California compliance offset market and will provide existing APX account holder access to ACR. More than 3,000 global firms trust APX registry technology to issue, track, manage and retire environmental commodities across all renewable energy markets in North America and carbon markets worldwide.

Joe Varnas, CEO of APX said, “We are very excited to partner with Winrock International to support the American Carbon Registry as they continue to play an integral role in the compliance and voluntary carbon markets.  We believe together our registry platform, extensive history and expertise in the carbon markets will bring great services for all of their Members.” ACR California Advisors

ACR appointed several distinguished Californians to its Advisory Council to provide strategic guidance to ACR in the California market. In addition to current ACR advisor Cynthia Cory of the California Farm Bureau Federation, new California advisors include Jim Boyd, former California Energy Commissioner; Anthony Eggert of the University of California, Davis; Adrienne Alvord of the Union of Concerned Scientists; and Derek Walker of Environmental Defense Fund.

Jim Boyd retired from the California Energy Commission (CEC) in January 2012 at the end of his second five-year term as appointed by former Governor Schwarzenegger. He was first appointed to the CEC in 2002, prior to which Commissioner Boyd was Deputy Secretary and Chief of Staff of the California Resources Agency. He created and chaired the state’s first Joint Agency Climate Change Team and the state’s Natural Gas Working Group. Commissioner Boyd served for fifteen years as the Chief Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), directing the nation’s largest state air pollution control program. During this period, CARB led the nation in establishing new pollution control programs for motor vehicles and fuels, toxic air contaminants, consumer products, and industrial and area sources. A California native, Commissioner Boyd received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

Anthony Eggert is the executive director of the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy which is dedicated to informing better policy through research. From 2007 through 2012 Eggert served as an appointee of Governors Brown and Schwarzenegger in several senior policy positions including Science and Technology Policy Advisor to the Chair of the Air Resources Board, Commissioner for the California Energy Commission, and Deputy Secretary for Energy Policy of the California Environmental Protection Agency overseeing clean energy and environmental policy development for California. Anthony received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin Madison and Masters of Science Degree in Transportation Technology and Policy at the University of California Davis.

Adrienne Alvord is California and Western states director for the Union of Concerned Scientists. She is working to ensure a clean, de-carbonized energy and fuels economy that promotes equitable economic growth and improves public health in western states. Ms. Alvord is leading UCS’s effort to ensure robust implementation of AB 32, California’s landmark climate law and to ensure California’s renewable energy standard and clean vehicle standards are enforced. Prior to UCS, Ms. Alvord was the environmental policy director for California State Senator Fran Pavley and served as Pavley’s lead staff on AB 32. She led successful legislative efforts to establish clean energy programs and accompanying funding sources, clean vehicles and fuel technology standards, air and water quality rules, and natural resources protection programs. Prior to working in the California Legislature, Ms. Alvord was policy director for a California non-profit promoting sustainable agriculture.

Derek Walker is Director of Strategic Climate Initiatives at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where he is responsible for directing U.S. state and regional climate change programs, with a particular focus on California. Previously, as Director of EDF’s California Climate Initiative and Deputy Director of EDF’s States Climate Program, he managed EDF’s engagement in the implementation of AB32,  helped lead successful campaigns to pass statewide greenhouse gas policies in New Jersey and Connecticut and to strengthen the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) regional cap-and-trade program. Prior to joining EDF, Derek was Executive Director of the Maryland Democratic Party and worked with former Vice President Al Gore as a presenter on global warming science and solutions for The Climate Project. He received a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and spent a year studying at University College, Oxford.