With Opportunity Green since: October 2021
“Setting up Opportunity Green has meant I’ve been able to create my dream job and give dream jobs to multiple other people, it’s an incredible privilege! We’ve had a number of fantastic successes, against overwhelming odds, and even as things can look bleak globally, we always try to find the positive whilst also tackling the worst offenders.
“Opportunity Green wouldn’t exist without our funders, so a joy for me has been getting the support of so many great organisations and individuals who believe in what we are doing and want to see us do more of it.”
Environmental policy and law, hydrogen as a climate solution, the climate impact of transport, climate policy (Ireland, EU, international), specialist expertise on the environmental impact of shipping and aviation, being a female founder, what businesses can do to reduce the gender pay gap
In 2021, Aoife founded Opportunity Green to be a bold, brave NGO dedicated to closing the gaps in global climate action by leveraging the power of law, economics, and policy. A trained lawyer and economist, Aoife brings over a decade of experience in the climate sector, with a particularly strong network in the aviation and shipping industries. Her vision for the organisation is informed by a wealth of professional experience that spans numerous NGOs, including ClientEarth, Transport & Environment, Pure Leapfrog and the Environmental Defense Fund, where she worked across a raft of projects, from the highest level of climate action in overall EU climate governance, to small-scale operations such as local community energy projects.
Aoife established Opportunity Green with a dual vision: to drive bold, innovative climate action – especially in underexplored and high-emission sectors – and to create an exceptional workplace. Just four years later, the organisation has grown to nearly 30 employees and developed a distinctive strategic approach to climate advocacy, applying a multidisciplinary toolkit to maximise impact.
Opportunity Green’s team includes lawyers, economists, scientists, diplomacy and advocacy experts, all focused on delivering impact-led interventions across key supply-side sectors. Under Aoife’s leadership, the organisation understands that lasting, systemic change in a sector cannot be achieved through isolated efforts. It therefore uniquely combines legal, economic, and policy advocacy to tackle the root causes of climate change and champion effective solutions in its sectors, which currently include aviation, shipping, steel and agriculture.
Aoife holds a First Class Honours law degree from Trinity College Dublin, a Masters of Law from Columbia Law School and a Graduate Diploma in Quantitative Economics from the University of London.
Aoife’s expertise is regularly sought out by the media. She has spoken at large-scale trade and industry events and has appeared on the BBC’s Rare Earth, Rethink Climate as well as CGTN Europe. She has also authored high-profile op-eds for the Financial Times and Euractiv and been interviewed for pieces in The Guardian and the Irish Mirror, among many others. She has been profiled in the Irish Independent for its This Working Life feature.
Publications
Learn more about Aoife's work at OG
