Wee Kean Fong

Senior Associate, Climate Program, WRI China

Bio

Dr. Wee Kean Fong is a Senior Associate at WRI who leads the GHG Protocol for Cities as part of the broader effort to promote data-driven city climate actions. His team convenes cities to set ambitious emissions reduction targets, plan and implement transformative actions, and measure greenhouse gas performance consistently and transparently using standardized methodologies.

From 2001 to 2014, Fong led a partnership with C40 Cities, ICLEI, World Bank, UN-Habitat and UNEP to develop the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC). The GPC provides a standardized framework that enables cities to measure, report, and track greenhouse gas emissions consistently and comprehensively. Currently, more than 600 cities globally have committed to use it for measuring and reporting their greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2015, Fong partnered with UN-HABITAT to develop the Guiding Principles for City Climate Action Planning to guide cities in developing and implementing credible climate action plans.

In China, Fong is the WRI China Climate Program Lead. He and his team offer support to provinces and cities on emission peaking roadmap analyses and city climate action planning. In 2013, he convened a partnership with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and several other organizations to develop a greenhouse gas accounting tool for Chinese cities. Currently it is the most widely used open-source city greenhouse gas accounting tool in China.

Fong has vast project experience around the world. Over the last 20 years, he has been involved in numerous projects in many developing countries, including Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and others.

Fong holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Technology Malaysia, and a Master of Engineering and Doctor of Engineering from the Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan.

Blog Posts

Chengdu Shows How Cities Can Turn Climate Commitments into Action
by Wee Kean Fong - October 05, 2016
Hundreds of cities are starting to get serious about curbing climate change. Fast-growing Chengdu, China, is putting evidence-based low-carbon planning into action.
23 Chinese Cities Commit to Peak Carbon Emissions by 2030
by Wee Kean Fong - June 08, 2016
China's cities have a critical role to play in addressing climate change, but some huge metropolitan areas like Chengdu hadn't focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. That changed today as Chengdu and other Chinese cities and provinces committed to have their emissions peak by or before 2030 and decline after that.
Through Compact of Mayors, 360 Cities Will Cut Their Emissions 17% by 2030
by Wee Kean Fong and Elyse Myrans - December 04, 2015
WRI analysis shows that by joining the Compact of Mayors, 360 cities can avoid emitting 740 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually in 2030, more than what Mexico emits every year.
Hundreds of Cities Poised to Replicate Rio’s Approach to Measuring and Reducing Emissions
by Wee Kean Fong and Ryan Schleeter - December 08, 2014
Today, WRI, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability are launching the final version of the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories (GPC). It’s the first internationally accepted standard for measuring emissions at the city level, and empowers cities to accurately identify where their emissions are coming from, set credible and achievable reduction targets, and consistently track progress.
New Greenhouse Gas Accounting Tool Will Help China’s Cities Pursue Low-Carbon Development
by Wee Kean Fong and Xiaoqian Jiang - September 24, 2013
Low-carbon development has become the core theme of China’s urbanization. In fact, it’s one of the country’s key strategies to achieve its target of reducing carbon intensity by 40-45 percent by 2020.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has identified 36 pilot cities and assigned them several tasks.
Rio de Janeiro Poised to Update Its Greenhouse Gas Inventory
by Wee Kean Fong - July 23, 2013
Rio de Janeiro is a leader among the Brazilian cities aggressively promoting low-carbon development. In 2011, the city passed a landmark climate change law with a target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 8% below the business-as-usual (BAU) emissions scenario by 2012, 16% by 2016, and 20% by 2020.

Now Rio is conducting a GHG inventory for 2012, the first target year under its climate change law. The inventory will measure the city’s emissions against its 8% reduction target for 2012, and assess the effectiveness of GHG mitigation actions implemented so far. On July 2, the city government of Rio invited me and my colleagues from the Greater London Authority and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE) to a seminar to share our experiences in conducting GHG inventories and to discuss Rio’s 2012 inventory. At the seminar, Nelson Moreira Franco, Director for Climate Change Management and Sustainable Development for the City of Rio, stressed that GHG inventories help identify emission sources and provide scientific evidence on GHG levels, so it is extremely important that the city gets it right. To me, the seminar covered four important items:
33 Cities Test New Framework for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories
by Wee Kean Fong and Mary Elizabeth Sotos - July 02, 2013
A growing number of countries and companies now measure and manage their emissions through greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. Cities, however, lack a common framework for tracking their own emissions—until now.

Thirty-three cities and communities from around the world started pilot testing the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Pilot Version 1.0 (GPC Pilot Version 1.0) last month. The GPC represents the first international framework for greenhouse gas accounting for cities. It was launched in May 2012 as a joint initiative among WRI, C40, and ICLEI in collaboration with the World Bank, UN-HABITAT, and UNEP.
6 Lessons Brazilian Cities Learned from Greenhouse Gas Inventories
by Wee Kean Fong, Mary Elizabeth Sotos, Rachel Biderman and Charles Kent - June 07, 2013
This piece provides insights from a recent Greenhouse Gas Protocol seminar in Brazil. The Seminar was part of WRI’s Sustainable Cities Initiative funded by the Caterpillar Foundation.

Last week in São Paulo, WRI, ICLEI, C40, USP-IEE, and EMBARQ Brazil jointly brought together more than 200 Brazilian city officials and experts to discuss how to use the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GPC) to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cities. Representatives from Brazil’s federal and state governments, as well as city-level governments including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Piracicaba, shared their experiences in conducting GHG inventories and implementing local climate actions.

Brazilian cities and municipalities vary in the status of their efforts to collect GHG data and conduct emissions inventories. The event focused on emissions management efforts so far. Below are six lessons highlighted by participants in the discussion:

1. Strong political commitment is crucial for success. Many cities in Brazil have made strong political commitments to address climate change. For example, Rio and Belo Horizonte have created municipal climate change laws with mandatory GHG reduction targets. Rio’s target is to reduce emissions by 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, while Belo Horizonte’s is 20 percent by 2030. In both cases, city-wide GHG inventories have been conducted to inform and track performance toward these targets.

2. The inventory is the first step in low-carbon development. Participants stressed the importance of the GHG inventory process (see figure below) as a planning tool to help cities assess their emissions, identify emission sources, set reduction targets, prioritize mitigation actions, and track performance. For instance, Belo Horizonte’s inventory found that the transportation sector is the city’s major source of GHG emissions (71 percent); this information will help the city identify reduction measures. Prof. Jose Goldemberg, former federal Minister and São Paulo State Secretary of Environment, stressed that GHG inventories help cities identify key emission sources and implement low-carbon technologies. Nelson Moreira Franco, Director for Climate Change Management and Sustainable Development for the City of Rio, stressed that the “GHG inventory is a powerful instrument to manage emissions and influence policy-making.”
Lessons Learned from Low-Carbon City Planning in Malaysia
by Wee Kean Fong - April 29, 2013
Stacy Kotorac, a project coordinator/research assistant with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, also contributed to this blog post.

Low-carbon city development has become a central part of the Malaysian government’s strategy to meet its greenhouse gas (GHG) commitments. The country, currently ranked second in terms of emissions per capita in Southeast Asia, has committed to reduce the emissions intensity of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 40 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

Many Malaysian cities have created ambitious, low-carbon visions in order to meet national targets. However, many cities don’t yet have a credible GHG inventory or a comprehensive blueprint to help them systematically implement and monitor low-carbon actions. Without such a framework, it is nearly impossible to establish baseline measurements, set goals, or measure progress.

That’s why the GHG Protocol is currently working with partners to develop a standard methodology, the Global Protocol for Community Scale Emissions (GPC), as well as an accompanying toolkit that cities will be able to utilize to plan for their low-carbon development. Last year, we released the GPC Pilot Version 1.0. Over the next six months, about 30 cities will pilot test it.
For the First Time, a Common Framework for Cities’ Greenhouse Gas Inventories
by Wee Kean Fong, Mary Elizabeth Sotos and Stacy Kotorac - March 04, 2013
UPDATE: The deadline to apply to pilot test the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GPC) has been extended to March 31, 2013. Download the Terms of Reference and Application Form for the pilot project, as well as other relevant documents about the GPC. Or, for more information, please contact Wee Kean Fong at wkfong@wri.org.

“You cannot manage what you cannot measure” is a well-known adage for business, and the phrase is increasingly relevant for cities. In the past decade, many cities have started measuring their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data. GHG inventories are essential for building effective low-carbon strategies, tracking GHG reductions, responding to regulations and local GHG program requirements, and securing climate finance. Some cities also believe that tracking emissions can eventually conserve financial and other resources.

The challenge is that most cities conduct their inventories using different methodologies. Without an internationally consistent framework for GHG accounting and reporting, inventory results can be confusing and misleading to decision-makers, investors, and civil society stakeholders. This lack of consistency can even jeopardize the accountability and effectiveness of cities’ emission-reduction efforts.

The Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG Emissions

But there is a solution: WRI partnered with C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) to develop the Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG Emissions (GPC) Pilot Version 1.0. This guide—which is now beginning its pilot-testing phase—is set to become the first internationally accepted framework for city-level GHG inventories.

As the GPC begins its pilot-testing phase, city leaders may wonder about the specific benefits of using a standardized GHG accounting method. Let’s take a look at GHG reporting trends in cities and the risks of using inconsistent methods.

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Wee Kean Fong

Chengdu Shows How Cities Can Turn Climate Commitments into Action

23 Chinese Cities Commit to Peak Carbon Emissions by 2030

Through Compact of Mayors, 360 Cities Will Cut Their Emissions 17% by 2030

Hundreds of Cities Poised to Replicate Rio’s Approach to Measuring and Reducing Emissions

New Greenhouse Gas Accounting Tool Will Help China’s Cities Pursue Low-Carbon Development

Rio de Janeiro Poised to Update Its Greenhouse Gas Inventory

33 Cities Test New Framework for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories

6 Lessons Brazilian Cities Learned from Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Lessons Learned from Low-Carbon City Planning in Malaysia

For the First Time, a Common Framework for Cities’ Greenhouse Gas Inventories

The Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG Emissions

Compact of Mayors Emissions Scenario Model

Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories

An Accounting and Reporting Standard for Cities

Building Energy and GHG Reporting Scheme for Enterprises

A Guangdong Strategy Study

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The Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG Emissions

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A Guangdong Strategy Study

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