The Climate Change Advisory Council
Membership of the Climate Change Advisory Council is established under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended). The Council consists of a chairperson and not fewer than 8 and not more than 13 ordinary members, including ex-officio members from the EPA, Teagasc and Met Éireann.
The Climate Change Advisory Council publishes the agendas and minutes of its meetings, along with those of its Adaptation Committee and Carbon Budgets Working Group.
Marie Donnelly
Marie is the Chairperson of the Climate Change Advisory Council. She spent thirty years with the European Commission, ultimately as Director for Renewables, Energy Efficiency and Innovation, advocating to provide a fair deal for consumers; putting energy efficiency first; and achieving global leadership in renewable energies.
Marie is a member of the Governance Committee of MaREI and an Advisory board member of UCD Energy Institute. She was also the first Chairperson of Renewable Energy Ireland, an open partnership of sustainable energy associations.
She was also a non-executive director of Tipperary Energy Agency, a social enterprise for energy efficiency; and E3G, a European climate change think tank operating to accelerate the global low carbon transition.
Marie is a Senior Advisor in Brussels to global communications agency, Penta. Marie was also previously a Director of the Federation of Irish Chemical Industries and an executive with the Kerry Group.
Dr. Cara Augustenborg
Dr. Cara Augustenborg is an Assistant Professor in Landscape Studies and Environmental Policy with a Doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She received both a Fulbright Scholarship and Walsh Fellowship to conduct her doctoral research at Teagasc in nitrogen recycling for livestock waste management from 2003-2007. Since then, she has held a variety of roles in academia, Government, and the environmental NGO sector, including as Chairperson of Friends of the Earth Ireland and Friends of the Earth Europe until 2019. She is an Honorary Member of President Michael D. Higgins’ Council of State and presenter of the environmental radio programme, ‘Down to Earth with Cara Augustenborg’, on Newstalk.
Prof. Morgan D. Bazilian
Professor Morgan D. Bazilian is Director of the Payne Institute and Professor of public policy at the Colorado School of Mines. He was previously Lead Energy Specialist at the World Bank, and a senior diplomat at the United Nations. He has been a lead negotiator for the EU at the UN climate negotiations. He is a Member of the US Council on Foreign Relations.
Prof. Yvonne Buckley
Professor Yvonne Buckley is an ecologist and Professor of Zoology at Trinity College Dublin. She is Co-Director of the Climate + Biodiversity and Water Co-Centre, Co-Chair of the All-Island Climate and Biodiversity Research Network, Senior Editor of Journal of Ecology, a member of the National Carbon Budgets Working Group (CCAC) and a member of both the Royal Irish Academy and Academia Europaea. Professor Buckley is currently involved in research at the intersection of climate change, climate action and biodiversity conservation and restoration.
Laura Burke
Laura Burke is the Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), appointed in 2011 and served as a Director within the EPA since 2004. As Director General she has the responsibility to lead and strategically manage the EPA. Laura is the Chair of the European Environment Agency (EEA) Management Board. Prior to joining the EPA, she worked in the private sector. Laura is a graduate chemical engineer of University College Dublin (UCD), holds an MSc from Trinity College, Dublin, is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers of Ireland and is a Chartered Director. In 2016 Laura was awarded the UCD Engineering Graduates Association (EGA) Distinguished Graduate Award.
Patricia King
Patricia King is the former General Secretary of ICTU. She is a former vice-President of SIPTU and also served as one of two vice-Presidents of Congress. A full time official with SIPTU for over 25 years, she was the first woman to serve as a national officer of the union when she was appointed vice-President, in May 2010. She has represented workers in all areas of the economy, in both the public and private sectors. Patricia was a lead negotiator in both the Croke Park and Haddington Road agreements. She played a leading role in the Irish Ferries dispute (2005/6) and in subsequent negotiations that saw an overhaul of employment rights law and the establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA). Patricia served on the boards of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and the Apprenticeship Council. She is currently on the Court Services Board and the Board of Uisce Éireann, and is a member of the Housing Commission.
Jillian Mahon
Jillian Mahon is an experienced executive and director with wide ranging general and specialist management experience across the private, public and international finance sector. Since 2019 she has been an independent business and financial consultant working in an advisory capacity in the public and private sector both domestically and within the EU, particularly in areas of risk management and sustainability.
Previously Jillian held senior roles in the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), initially with the NPRF/ISIF and from 2014 on the project team establishing the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and thereafter in the role as Head of Funding, Risk Sharing and Strategic Initiatives with that state agency.
Prior to these positions, Jillian had an extensive executive career in capital markets banking ultimately holding the role of Treasurer in AIB. She holds a BA, MBA and Prof Dip in Corporate Governance (UCD) and CISL Certificate in Sustainable Finance from University of Cambridge.
Eoin Moran
Eoin Moran is the Director of Met Éireann, the Irish Meteorological Service, and has responsibility at Assistant Secretary level to lead and strategically manage Met Éireann. He also sits on the Management Board of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. He was appointed to his current role in 2016 having served on Met Éireann’s senior management team since 2007 and joining Met Éireann in 1995.
Eoin serves as Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and has been elected 2nd Vice-President of the WMO, for a four-year term. He is the vice-President of EUMETSAT and the Chair of the ECMWF Policy Advisory Committee. He served as Chair of the EUMETNET Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee between 2015 and 2019 and has extensive experience in several international scientific and technical bodies, including IUGG-IAGA and WMO-GAW.
Eoin holds a BSc (hons) and MSc in Mathematics from National University of Ireland, Galway and a higher Diploma in Corporate Governance from the University College Dublin, Smurfit Business School.
Prof. Edgar Morgenroth
Professor Edgar Morgenroth is Full Professor of Economics in DCU Business School, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland. He has held positions at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), the Strategic Investment Board in Northern Ireland (SIBNI) and Keele University. He also served two terms on the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) and was a board member of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). He is a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the Regional Studies Association.
Andrew Murphy
Andrew Murphy is an expert in sustainable transport with experience working in government, civil society and industry. His experience covers developing market-based mechanisms, promoting modal shift, and European regulations. He was an observer to the 2015 Paris climate conference, along with many other UNFCCC gatherings. A Galway native, he graduated from NUI Galway with a BA and LLB, and previously studied at the University of Richmond in the US.
Prof. Frank O’Mara
Professor Frank O’Mara took up the role of Director of Teagasc on 1 October 2021. He joined Teagasc in 2006 and has been Director of Research since 2009. He is an agricultural scientist and sustainable livestock systems specialist, with over 30 years’ experience in technical and senior managerial capacities in Agri-Food research, education and development institutions. He also contributes to various national and EU committees and bodies, review panels and scientific advisory boards, and became President of the European Animal Task Force in 2020. He was a Lead Author on the fourth assessment report of working group III of the IPCC. He was appointed Adjunct Professor in UCD in 2017.
Julie Sinnamon
Julie Sinnamon is a former CEO of Enterprise Ireland, a government agency responsible for the growth of Irish-owned businesses in global markets. Prior to this appointment in November 2013, Julie held a number of senior public sector positions, spanning a 30-year career in Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. Julie is on the Investment Committee of the Irish Strategic Investment Fund. She is Chair of European Movement Ireland and holds a number of Directorships including Director of the PWC Ireland Public Interest Body, Cairn Homes plc, The Agricultural Trust, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and The Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. A strong proponent of initiatives that drive diversity and the building of balanced teams in the workplace, Julie is a champion for women engaging at all levels within both the public and private sectors and is Co-Chair of Balance for Better Business, an independent group established by the Irish Government tasked with improving gender balance in senior leadership and Boards in Ireland. Julie is a business graduate of the University of Ulster, has a Masters in International Business and is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Programme, USA.
Prof. Peter Thorne
Prof. Peter Thorne is the director of the ICARUS climate research centre at Maynooth University. He is a Coordinating Lead Author on the sixth assessment report of working group I of the IPCC and a member of the core writing team for the IPCC sixth assessment report synthesis report. He is chair of the Global Climate Observing System’s Atmospheric Observations Panel for Climate. He serves on several World Meteorological Organisation groups. He has led H2020 and Copernicus Climate Change Service contracts.