In July 2012, the sixth 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 of implementing such systems in developing countries. The Summer School in Dublin was the sixth of its kind and continues a series of past ICAP events held in Berlin, The Hague, Beijing, Madrid and Alajuela (Costa Rica). It was attended by 29 mid-career professionals from 12 countries. Michael Mehling, Benjamin Görlach and Miriam Schröder led the course.

Ecologic Institute designed the curriculum and helped organize the course, which was carried out under the auspices of the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP), in close cooperation with the ICAP Secretariat, GIZ and the Irish Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. ICAP is a forum of 29 national and regional governments and jurisdictions, including several EU countries, the EU Commission, as well as a number of US states and Canadian provinces part of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), Australia, New Zealand and Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), aiming to advance international cooperation on carbon markets. The course was funded by the EU Commission.

During the two-week course, the 29 participants gained an in-depth understanding of the design and implementation of carbon trading systems as a tool to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Participants had the opportunity to discuss various aspects of emissions trading with experienced practitioners from the EU Commission, several EU Member States and other jurisdictions with emissions trading systems around the world. The faculty also included experts from academia and think tanks in North America and Europe, as well as business representatives.

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, monitoring, reporting and verification, GHG inventories and registries, the link of domestic ETS to the international climate regime, price formation and carbon market dynamics, 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. The course also included a visit to Turlough Hill Pumped Hydro-electric Station.

The course was attended by decision makers and future leaders from government, NGOs, academia and the private sector. Summer School participants came from Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Kazakhstan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and Zambia. They were selected from more than 600 applicants worldwide.