Dr. Danny Cullenward

Methodology focus

Climate economist and lawyer. Senior Fellow at the Kleinman Center at UPenn; former co-founder of CarbonPlan. Author of 'Making Climate Policy Work' (Stanford, 2020, with David Victor). Most published critic of the economic and legal structures that produce low-quality carbon markets.

Trellison / LedgerWell intersection. Policy-legal bridge. Could translate proof-pack architecture into enforceable standards language.

Affiliation

Kleinman Center / American University / CarbonPlan

Role

Climate economist + lawyer

Axis

Integrity Critics

Tier

Tier 1

Selected publications

2020 — Making Climate Policy Work (book, with D. Victor). Polity / Stanford.
2023 — The Structural Fragility of US Climate Policy. Kleinman Center.
2024 — California Cap-and-Trade at a Crossroads. ClimateWorks Foundation.
2024 — Voluntary Carbon Markets: Legal and Economic Critique. Kleinman Center working paper.

Alignment with proof packs

Their methodology / role	Proof-pack / Trellison fit
Policy/legal architecture critique	Proof packs = the data substrate that enables enforceable standards language
Compliance market design (CA cap-and-trade)	Proof packs are compatible with CA ARB protocol formats
Economic incentive analysis	Proof-pack cost decomposition exposes incentive-driven over-crediting

Collaboration concepts

Concept 1

Joint legal-economic brief: 'Radical transparency as a market-discipline instrument'

Bridges Cullenward's legal framing with Trellison's technical substrate. Target: Harvard Environmental Law Review, Yale Journal on Regulation.

Concept 2

CA ARB / AB 32 compliance-market proof-pack pilot proposal

Proposal document to CA ARB for integrating proof-pack disclosure into next compliance period.

Concept 3

Amicus brief framework for climate litigation

Proof-pack data products as admissible evidence in climate-related litigation and securities actions.

Outreach approach

Proposed opening message

Subject: A reference implementation for your integrity thesis

Dear Danny Cullenward,

We have been reading your published critique of carbon market integrity as a design specification rather than commentary. Trellison Institute has been building a per-tonne open-data verification instrument — we call the artefact a proof pack — that tries to implement what your work argues for.

I would welcome a 30-minute conversation to show you the current alpha. We are not asking for endorsement; we are asking for methodology critique and, if useful, an offer of alpha access for your active work. Independent negative evaluations would be published alongside positive ones.

A one-page methodology brief that maps your work to proof-pack schema fields — with gaps flagged honestly — is attached.

With respect,
Rob Stillwell
Director, Trellison Institute

What we do not ask for

Endorsement of Trellison, LedgerWell, DaedArch, or any affiliated entity.
Exclusivity or first-look rights on research findings.
Unpaid labour. Any advisor role is compensated with a modest honorarium and disclosed on the record.

Disclosure: Compiled from public sources through April 2026. Inclusion does not imply endorsement, affiliation, or reciprocal interest. Corrections: About.

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