Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation

Fellowship Year: 2007

Academic Background: UC Santa Barbara - MS - (Env. Sci. & Mgmt.)

Current Position: Center Fellow - Center for Climate and Electricity Policy , Resources for the Future

As part of RFF’s Center for Climate and Electricity Policy, Daniel Morris focuses on the policy and economic implications of a wide suite of climate change issues, many related to land use, human development, and natural systems. He is currently working on domestic climate adaptation policy, water supply, forest resources, ecosystem services, and tracking of current climate legislation. Much of his research agenda involves management of the RFF Domestic Adaptation Project, a multi-year effort to synthesize current scientific understanding of anticipated climate change impacts and develop a set of feasible policy recommendations to guide the federal government in its responses. Related to this work, Morris investigates the nexus between climate change and freshwater resources. He also manages the RFF Forest Carbon Index, which synthesizes economic, biological, and risk data to estimate a country’s potential capacity for carbon storage in forest sinks, primarily in the tropical regions of the world. Similarly, Morris focuses on the relatively new field of “blue carbon,” which investigates the carbon storage potential of coastal and marine ecosystems. He has a Masters of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara and a B.S. in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Communication and Rhetoric from Northern Arizona University. He has previously worked with the US Forest Service, the Program on Governance for Sustainable Development, and the National Park Foundation.

Expertise: Energy & Climate Change, Water Resources, Environmental Policy & Law