Adaptation Committee

At its meeting on the 6^th April 2016, the Climate Change Advisory Council established an Adaptation Committee to consider matters relating to climate change resilience. This was formalised in the 2021 amendment to the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015.

Adaptation Committee Terms of Reference

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.

Adaptation Committee Documents

Professor Peter Thorne (Chair)

Professor Peter Thorne is the director of the ICARUS climate research centre and Professor of Physical Geography (Climate Change) at Maynooth University. He is a Coordinating Lead Author on the sixth assessment report of working group I of the IPCC and the 2014 US National Climate Assessment. He is also a member of the core writing team for the IPCC sixth assessment report synthesis report and chair of the Global Climate Observing System’s Atmospheric Observations Panel for Climate. Professor Thorne serves on several World Meteorological Organisation groups. He has led H2020 and Copernicus Climate Change Service contracts.

Mark Adamson

Mark Adamson is the Head of the Risk Management and Climate Adaptation Division within Flood Risk Management Services in the Office of Public Works in Ireland. Mark is responsible for the implementation of the EU 'Floods' Directive in Ireland, the national flood risk assessment and mapping programmes, the advisory service to planning authorities on flood risk, climate change adaptation planning for flood risk management, the promotion of nature-based solutions, and the coastal and hydrological research and analysis programmes.

He has previously overseen the design of flood relief schemes and the delivery of the National CFRAM Programme, and served six years as the Chairman of the EU Working Group on Floods (WG F).

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.

Dr. Julie Clarke

Julie is an Assistant Professor in Engineering in Climate Action in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at Trinity College Dublin. Her research focuses on vulnerability and risk modelling for the built environment and critical infrastructure networks due to climate change impacts. She has led several national and international research projects developing risk assessment methodologies for buildings and transport infrastructure networks due to climate change impacts to inform adaptation planning. Julie is a Chartered Engineer with Engineers Ireland.

Prof. Robert Devoy

Professor Robert Devoy, is Professor in Geography (Emeritus), University College Cork (UCC).  He was a lead member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR4 Working Group II (2002 – 2007), and a Reviewer in IPCC AR5 (2013-2014), with an international academic career spanning some 45 years.  He was formerly Head of the School of Geography, Archaeology and Planning in UCC; more recently (2012 -2018), senior scientist and technical advisor in the Marine and Renewable Energy Centre Ireland (MaREI), Environmental Research Institute, UCC and Student Ombudsman for the University (2012 – 2014).  His research is primarily in the area of coastal science; with work on a range of aspects of Quaternary palaeoenvironmental records, contemporary coastal processes and systems’ functioning and geomorphology, together with related issues of coastal management, planning and governance.     

Dr Ina Kelly

Ina graduated in Medicine in University College Galway, with post-graduate training in Public Health Medicine in RCPI Ireland and WHO, Geneva. Ina is the Consultant in Public Health Medicine – Health Protection for Environment and Health in the HSE National Health Protection Service of Ireland (NHPSI). She chairs the Adaptation and Resilience working group of the recently launched HSE Climate Action and Sustainability Strategy, and has been involved in climate change adaptation planning with the Department of Health. As chair of the HSE Public Heath Medicine Environment and Health Group, she has led on advocacy for climate change adaptation, and has represented the Irish Medical Organisation on the Climate and Health Alliance. 

Keith Lambkin

Keith Lambkin has responsibility at Senior Meteorologist level for managing Met Éireann’s Climate Services Division, which incorporates both operational and developmental tasks.

The division has responsibility for the development of a National Framework for Climate Services, in support of Irish climate adaptation, through the provision of standardised climate services; the analysis of Ireland’s climate including regular international reporting to the World Meteorological Organization; the provision of climate communications both through scheduled climate summaries as well as stakeholder and media support during extreme weather and related climate events.

The division also supports international climate initiatives such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Change (IPCC).

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.

Professor Conor Murphy

Conor Murphy is a Professor in the Department of Geography and the Irish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS) at Maynooth University. His research interests are interdisciplinary and focus on hydroclimatology, climate change impacts and adaptation to climate change. His work engages closely with enterprise, public bodies, and communities. He has consistently published in top ranking international journals including Science, Nature, and Nature Climate Change. He has also published numerous government reports informing policy in the area. Conor is course director for the MSc Climate Change at Maynooth, and teaches modules on climate variability and change, adaptation and decision making under uncertainty at undergraduate and postgraduate level.  

Professor 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.

Roger Street

Roger is an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford and a Senior Scientist at the Information Systems for Climate Science and Decision-making (ISCD) division of the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC). He has been and continues to be involved in adaptation related activities throughout Europe (advising on Green Deal, Horizon 2020 and participating in Horizon Europe projects), Australia (working with CSIRO colleagues), and Canada (member of the Canadian Climate Institute expert panel on Adaptation). His research focuses on knowledge exchange and translation in support of climate risk, adaptation, and vulnerability assessments, and adaptation planning and implementation. 

David Joyce

Mr. Joyce is the Director of the Roads & Environment Operations Directorate in Cork City Council. He has responsibility for the provision of a wide range of services to the citizens, communities and business of the city, including drinking water and wastewater; environmental management; flood and weather emergency management; cemeteries, recreation facilities and playgrounds; parking and traffic services; roads maintenance and litter management and street sweeping/cleaning.

Prior to his present role, he led the City Council‘s Transition Directorate which delivered, in May 2019, the boundary extension to the City Council’s administrative area. This was the largest change project in Local Government in Ireland in 25 years. He also has over 24 years’ experience in Local Government in Ireland.

In the past he led the City Council’s Business Process Improvement (BPI) Unit. In this role he had responsibility for improving corporate processes, efficiency and Value for Money (VFM). He also holds a Master’s Degree in Local Government Management as well as qualifications in Public Procurement, Managing Change and Corporate Governance.