Adam McGibbon

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Adam McGibbon is a Northern Irish environmentalist and writer.

Contents

Early life and education

McGibbon was born in Belfast in 1988 and attended Lagan College, Northern Ireland’s first integrated school, and Queen’s University Belfast. [1] [2] At university, he joined the Green Party in Northern Ireland and founded the Green Party’s youth wing at the university, and the South Belfast branch of the party. He was the party’s candidate in Belfast South in the 2010 United Kingdom General Election, and was the youngest candidate in Northern Ireland at that election. [3] [4] The Greens' Clare Bailey later won the corresponding Northern Ireland Assembly seat. [5]

He was a two-term Vice President of Queen’s University Belfast Students’ Union and member of the Regional Executive of the National Union of Students – Union of Students in Ireland. He was a leader in the 2010-11 student campaign that stopped tuition fee increases at Northern Irish universities. [6] [7] [8] As of 2020, this campaign had saved Northern Ireland university students £1 billion in tuition fees compared to English students. [9]

Activism

After graduating, McGibbon worked as an election campaign manager for the Green Party of England & Wales, managing Caroline Lucas’ re-election campaign in Brighton Pavilion in the 2015 United Kingdom General Election. [10] Lucas’ majority increased substantially. McGibbon later ran Sian Berry’s campaign in the 2016 London Mayoral election, which achieved a then-record vote for the Greens and elected two London Assembly members. [11] [12] He also managed Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley’s successful bid to be Co-Leaders of the Green Party in the 2016 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election. [13]

While working for Global Witness, McGibbon led a coalition of organisations that forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to end the UK's multi-billion taxpayer finance for fossil fuel projects overseas in December 2020. [14] The UK was the first country in the world to make the move. The campaign won the ‘David and Goliath Award’ from the Sheila McKechnie Foundation. [15] By the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the campaign had produced a "domino effect," pushing 25 other countries, including the United States and Canada, to join the UK in phasing out public finance for overseas fossil fuel projects. [16] [17]

McGibbon was the inaugural winner of the Spirit of Northern Ireland ‘Climate Hero’ award in 2021. [18]

Writing & media

McGibbon has written for The Guardian , The Independent, The Nation, The New Statesman, Reader’s Digest, The Times and others on politics, the environment and Northern Irish affairs. [19] [20] [21]

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References

  1. ↑ Corr, Shauna (13 May 2021). "Belfast man wins award for convincing UK Government to stop funding fossil fuels". BelfastLive. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Northern Ireland remains sectarian and without political leadership | Adam McGibbon". The Guardian. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Belfast South". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Constituency profile: South Belfast". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  5. ↑ i-team (1 June 2016). "'I was made homeless because I didn't know the rules'". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Student activist graduates to campaigning position". Belfast Media Group. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "Northern Ireland university tuition fees frozen". BBC News. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  8. ↑ McGibbon, Adam (27 January 2020). "Opinion: Why raising tuition fees would be a big fight to pick". BelfastLive. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "Northern Ireland students saved £1bn thanks to tuition fees campaign". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "Ashcroft Poll: Clear lead for Green MP Caroline Lucas | The Green Party". www.greenparty.org.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  11. ↑ sianberry (16 July 2015). "London Green Party hires Caroline Lucas' campaign manager to steer Mayoral and Assembly bid". London Green Party. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  12. ↑ "The Green Party won a surprisingly huge number of votes in the London Mayoral elections" . The Independent. 7 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  13. ↑ "Adam McGibbon". www.Linkedin.com.
  14. ↑ Castle, Stephen (12 December 2020). "U.K. to Halt Subsidies for Fossil Fuel Projects Abroad". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  15. ↑ "UK Overseas Fossil Fuels Campaign > Sheila McKechnie Foundation". Sheila McKechnie Foundation. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  16. ↑ Corr, Shauna (4 November 2021). "Belfast man's fossil fuel divestment campaign leads to major COP26 breakthrough". BelfastLive. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "Climate hero Adam McGibbon secures Biden buy-in to $15bn green deal". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  18. ↑ "Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards 2021: Adam forces Boris to act on fossil fuels". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  19. ↑ "Adam McGibbon". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  20. ↑ "Adam McGibbon | The Guardian, The Independent, The Times Journalist | Muck Rack". muckrack.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  21. ↑ "Adam McGibbon" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
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