Jonathan Schwarz

Jonathan Schwarz is an Associate Director of Environment within RTI’s Agriculture, Water, and Environment (AWE) Division. In this role, he leads projects and business development for an international development team specializing in climate change, natural resources, and biodiversity. As a member of RTI’s Center for Climate Solutions, he provides technical guidance to project and proposal teams on forestry and land use management, climate action planning, environmental policy, the integration of climate action and resilience, and private sector engagement.

From 2014–2019, Mr. Schwarz served as the Chief of Party for the USAID Guatemala Low Emission Development Project, advising government and business leaders on greenhouse gas accounting and climate change mitigation. As Chief of Party, he led the project’s interdisciplinary team in assisting the Government of Guatemala with its long-term climate action planning, with special emphasis on improving climate science, strengthening local capacities, and piloting activities that demonstrated the benefits of low emission development. He also led the industry working group to advance climate change mitigation with key economic players such as the cement, steel, glass, and food and beverage industries. In this process, Mr. Schwarz engaged public and private sector partners to leverage $1.1 million for sustainable landscapes, provided technical assistance to 26 businesses on GHG accounting and corporate sustainability, and coordinated with eight government ministries to advance climate change mitigation in the forestry, agriculture, transportation, energy, waste, and industry sectors.

Mr. Schwarz joined RTI in 2017 with RTI’s acquisition of IRG. His background includes work on environmental conservation and economic growth projects in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. He speaks English and Spanish.