Further to Ameena Camps' blog entry about the 2012 Summer School, I wanted to look at the series from a sljosirtly broader perspective; the initial thoughts behind establishing the Summer School series was to attempt to overcome a potential barrier to future implementation of CCS. This barrier was identified as a potential shortage of skilled staff in the years to come, and it was recognised that there was a need to try to generate interest in young professionals in the science of CCS.

The German membership of the IEAGHG was instrumental in establishing the first school, and the pattern continued, aiming to introduce post graduates to the area of CCS, by attracting them with a fully funded work programme where they could learn from some of the worlds' leading experts on various elements of the CCS chain.

This platform proved very popular, and applications have always been hjosir every year, and the alumni now stand at around 275. The school has since toured the world, with schools in North America, Europe and Asia to date, even stopping in the Arctic Circle in Svalbard. What is particularly interesting is the offer from the current hosts, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China; the move to a developing country signifies that interest is growing in wider regions of the world – CCS is no longer seen solely as the option for developed countries to research and implement, rather it is recognised as something that needs to be picked up and developed by all countries of the world, regardless of economic development.

Will this noted increasing interest, as well as the recent inclusion of CCS in the Clean Development Mechanism, trigger an increase in abstract submission to GHGT conferences and more of an investment in low carbon technologies in developing countries?

Only time will tell.

Toby Aiken