Conference for Alumni of the ICAP Summer Schools and Training Courses

The International Carbon Action Partnership is pleased to invite applications for its first Alumni Conference, bringing together selected alumni from more than 20 Summer Schools and Training Courses on Emissions Trading implemented since 2009. The three-day conference will take place in Berlin, Germany, from 22 to 24 March 2023.

Background

Emissions trading is a market-based instrument for climate change mitigation. The last two decades have seen emissions trading systems (ETS) for greenhouse gas emissions evolve from existing only in theory, to 2023 where 26 systems have entered into force worldwide — covering around 17 percent of global emissions. Emissions trading plays a central role in climate policy mixes of a growing number of jurisdictions, with many emerging economies and developing countries taking steps towards developing such systems and increasing global emissions coverage.

Since 2009, training and capacity building for participants from emerging economies and developing countries have been a core part of the work by the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP). In more than 20 Summer Schools, regional Training Courses, ETS Masterclasses and other formats, participants have received in-depth training to design and implement emissions trading systems as a tool for climate mitigation.

The Alumni Conference will be an opportunity to bring together a selection of alumni to share their practical experiences and lessons learned in implementing carbon pricing in emerging economies and developing countries in the last 14 years.

Target group and eligibility criteria

Applicants must be alumni (i.e. participants in a previous course) of the ICAP training and capacity building activities (online or in-person) with a duration of five days or more. They must be current residents and nationals of emerging economies and other developing countries.

The Alumni Conference will be participatory in nature and all attendees will be expected to actively contribute. As part of the application process, applicants are asked to provide the following details:

• Which ICAP training or capacity building activity they participated in
• Describe the work they have done in the field of ETS and carbon pricing since completing the previous ICAP course
• Describe one topic, lesson learned or experience on which they would like to present to the Alumni Conference

Participation in the Alumni Conference will be determined through a competitive selection process based on defined criteria that aim for a balanced mixture of professional backgrounds, gender and nationalities. Priority – especially for in-person attendance – will be given to applicants that have been actively working in the field of ETS and carbon pricing. Final confirmation of participants will rest with ICAP. A pdf version of the application instructions can be found at the bottom of this page.

In-person attendance at the conference is capped at 30 participants. In addition, up to 40 remote participants will be invited — including candidates that could not make the journey as well as candidates not selected for in-person participation. To apply for the conference, please complete the application form, including an upload of your most up-to-date CV in pdf format.

Format and Content

The objective of the ICAP Alumni Conference is to share experiences and discuss how emissions trading systems can best be tailored to the specific circumstances and perspectives of emerging economies and developing countries. The conference agenda will be shaped primarily by the experiences of the participants, as well as their preferred presentation topic as described in their application form. These topics may include:

• Practical challenges of setting up administrative systems and legal frameworks to implement ETS, and how to address them
• How to successfully navigate the politics of ETS implementation, e.g. balancing countervailing interests, engaging stakeholders, communicating effectively, building supportive political coalitions
• Adapting ETSs to suit local conditions, e.g regulated power markets or hybrid tax-ETS models
• What role analysis – e.g. impact assessments, economic modelling – has played in informing ETS design and building support

Based on the information provided in participants’ applications, the organisers will develop an agenda reflecting participants’ interests and experiences, clustered into broad topics. In advance of the Alumni Conference, participants will be invited to take part in particular sessions, which may take different formats (for example, presentation sessions, panel discussions, break-out groups).

Over the three days, the conference programme will consist of three blocks of two hours each:

• A morning session (in-person participants and remote participants from Asia, Africa and Europe),
• A midday session (everyone) and
• An afternoon session (in-person participants and remote participants).

Since networking and informal exchange is a core goal of the conference, opportunities for interaction will be interspersed throughout the programme, including social activities. You can find the full draft agenda below (subject to changes).