From 4 to 15 July 2016, the 16th ICAP Summer School on Emissions Trading brought together experts from emerging economies and developing countries to learn about emissions trading as a tool for climate protection and to discuss the options and experiences of implementing such systems in developing countries. The Brussels course was the sixteenth of its kind since 2009. 28 mid-career professionals from eleven countries attended the course, which was facilitated by Benjamin Görlach and Matthias Duwe of the Ecologic Institute.

Besides the facilitating role, the Ecologic Institute also designed the curriculum and organized the course logistics, which was carried out under the auspices of the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP). The Institute for European Studies (IES) at the Free University of Brussels kindly hosted the course and contributed speakers for different sessions. ICAP is a forum of 29 national and regional governments and jurisdictions, including several EU countries, the European Commission, as well as a number of US states and Canadian provinces, Australia, New Zealand and Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), aiming to advance international cooperation on carbon markets. The Summer School was funded by the European Commission, which also contributed several of its staff members as speakers.

During the two-week course, participants gained an in-depth understanding of the design and implementation of carbon trading systems as a tool to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. They had the opportunity to discuss various aspects of emissions trading with experienced practitioners from the European Commission, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, France and Tokyo. The faculty also included experts from academia, think tanks and the private sector in North America and Europe, as well as representatives of business associations and companies covered by the EU ETS.

Course topics addressed during the two weeks included the economics of climate change, choosing and combining policy instruments for climate protection, design and scope of emissions trading, allocation mechanisms, GHG inventories and registries, emission monitoring, reporting and verification, the link of domestic ETS to the international climate regime, carbon market dynamics, stakeholder involvement, and other advanced aspects of ETS design and implementation. In discussing these issues, the course relied on interactive formats and group work, and made ample use of first-hand experience gained with the existing trading schemes in Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific region.

Participation at the course consisted of decision makers and future leaders from government, academia, NGOs and the private sector. Participants came from Bangladesh, China, Chile, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Thailand, Ukraine and Vietnam. They were selected from more than two hundred applicants worldwide.

The Brussels Summer School was the 16th of its kind. Since their inception in 2009, the Ecologic Institute has organised these events in various cities around the world - including Berlin, The Hague, Beijing, Madrid, Dublin, Alajuela, Rotterdam, Istanbul, Santiago de Chile, Paris, Mexico City, Seoul, London and São Paulo.