International Carbon Action Partnership

Background and Objective

The “International Carbon Action Partnership” (ICAP), founded in 2007, is an international network of governments created to exchange knowledge and experiences on emissions trading.

ICAP facilitates cooperation between countries, sub- national jurisdictions and supranational institutions that have established or are working to implement carbon markets through mandatory cap and trade systems. The partnership currently comprises 31 full members and five observer jurisdictions from four continents.

Implementation

The work of ICAP focuses on three pillars:

Within the framework of so-called technical dialogues ICAP members and observers discuss ETS design and implementation questions and the experience they have gained in a closed-door, safe environment.
ICAP also implements international and in-country capacity-building activities on emissions trading, drawing on the practical expertise from across its jurisdictions.
Finally, the ICAP website serves as a key knowledge hub on developments in emissions trading schemes: Regular news articles report on the latest events and an interactive world map shows both the current implementation status and the design features of systems worldwide. Certificate prices in various emissions trading systems are tracked by a price tracker and an ETS library provides a reference database filled with key ETS-related literature.

ICAP also publishes various technical papers. The day-to-day implementation work is supported by the Berlin-based ICAP Secretariat under the guidance of the ICAP Co-Chairs and financed mainly by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

Milestones and Outlook

Over the years, ICAP has evolved to a unique forum in which to share best practices and discuss ETS design elements with a view to creating a well-functioning global carbon market through gradual alignment and linking of ETS. The ICAP website has become a one-stop-shop on the state of play of developments in emissions trading schemes. The ICAP-PMR Handbook on ETS design and implementation, the ICAP Guide to Linking and the annual ETS Status Reports are three key flagship publications that inform about the newest developments and support political stakeholders in their decision making. By combining all these activities, ICAP makes a valuable contribution to the promotion of carbon pricing worldwide.