The Greenhouse Gas Management Institute was founded as a nonprofit organization by Michael Gillenwater, Gao Pronove, and Tom Baumann in 2007 with the support of ClimateCHECK, Greenhouse Gas Experts Network, Earth Council Geneva, and GoVida e-Learning. The following table provides a chronology of the events leading up to and following the founding of the Institute:

Date Description
1990 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes first assessment report
1992 Earth Summit, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiated
1994 The UNFCCC entered into force
1995 IPCC publishes second assessment report
1997 Kyoto Protocol negotiated
2001 IPCC publishes third assessment report
2001 World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) publishes initial GHG Protocol corporate accounting standard
2002 E-learning training program launched by the UNFCCC for GHG inventory compliance expert review teams, developed and taught by future staff of GHG Management Institute
2004 Experts at ClimateCHECK develop training courses for GHG verification and GHG accounting based on ISO 14064 and GHG Protocol
2005 Kyoto Protocol entered into force
2005 WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol for Project Accounting published
2006 GHG Experts Network launched with funding by UNDP as a precursor to the GHG Management Institute
2006 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) begins operation
Early 2007 The leaders of ClimateCHECK, the GHG Experts Network, and GoVida e-Learning begin discussions on formation of a global training and professional institute for GHG experts. Earth Council Geneva with support the Swiss Development Cooperation Agency contributes to help finance pilot course.
2007 IPCC publishes fourth assessment report
June 2007 GHG Management Institute incorporated as a nonprofit organization
November 2007 GHG Management Institute publicly launched!
November 2007 Carbon Disclosure Project signs partnership agreement with GHG Management Institute
November 2007 Offset Quality Initiative (OQI) launched with the GHG Management Institute as a founding member
December 2007 World Resources Institute signs partnership agreement with GHG Management Institute
Summer 2008 GHG Management Institute selected by Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to develop accreditation system and mandatory training program for RGGI verifiers
October 2008 GHG Management Institute partners with Point Carbon to develop global online training program on carbon markets.
November 2008 GHG Management Institute partners with World Bank to develop global training program on CDM and Joint Implementation (JI)
November 2008 The UN’s Joint Implementation programme selects the GHG Management Institute to develop training program for verifier accreditation panels
January 2009 RGGI cap-and-trade program begins
February 2009 GHG Management Institute and Sequence Staffing release 2009 Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change Workforce Needs Assessment Survey Report
March 2009 GHG Management Institute trains Standards Council of Canada assessors on ISO 14064 and 14065
Fall 2009 GHG Management Institute partners with Harvard University Extension School to teach graduate course in sustainability, GHG management and accounting.
November 2009 GHG Management Institute launches new global membership program and publishes its first biennial report.
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