Mayo man selected as Ireland’s Climate Leader by former US Vice President Al Gore

Twenty-Seven-year-old, Luke Gibbons from Claremorris has been selected to represent Ireland as a Climate Reality Leader by Former US Vice President Al Gore. 

Selection is extremely competitive, with many high-quality candidates for a very small number of places.

The Climate Reality Project, founded by Al Gore, focuses on empowering individuals to take action on climate change. 

Mr Gibbons, along with other newly selected Climate Reality Leaders, will undergo comprehensive training designed to equip them with the knowledge and tools needed to advocate for sustainable practices and policies in their home countries.

Speaking on his recent appointment, Mr Gibbons said he was ‘honoured’ to be selected as part of ‘this incredible group of climate leaders’. 

“The training in Rome is an invaluable opportunity to learn from Former Vice President Al Gore, experts and fellow academics. I look forward to bringing back new insights and strategies to Ireland,” he added.

This weekend, Mr Gibbons will spend three days in Rome receiving training from Al Gore himself among other notable climate leaders including Federica Fricano, Co-Chair of the G7, Roberto Gualtieri, Mayor of Rome and Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens.

The young Claremorris man was selected as an Al Gore Climate Leader on the back of his expertise surrounding climate change. 

Mr Gibbons will engage in work and discussions with the Former Vice President on a range of topics including, fighting greenwashing, building resilience and deriving climate solutions.

Mr Gibbons is an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Scholar and PhD Candidate at Trinity College Dublin and a former Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Researcher at Harvard Law School. 

His award-winning research focuses on company directors’ duties and climate change risks. 

In February, his research was recognised across the Atlantic when he was named in the Top 40 Under 40 Irish in America, winning the People’s Choice Award with over 20,000 votes.

Mr Gibbon’s appointment comes just months after his selection as a President Mary Robinson Young Climate Leader, where he has already engaged in dialogue with the Former President as a speaker at the Mary Robinson Climate Conference 2024 in Ballina.

As well as holding a First-Class Law Degree with a Gold Medal from Trinity College, Dublin, Mr Gibbons graduated as the Honoré Scholar in Law from the University of Oxford. He has also worked on environmental policies as a Legislative Fellow for Congressman Matt Cartwright on Capitol Hill as part of the Washington Ireland Programme, and has published widely in the area. 

He is an incoming Casimir Pulaski Scholar at the Academy of Young Diplomats, previous Irish Law Student of the Year and in 2021 was awarded as the Most Outstanding Person Under 40 in Ireland for Academic Leadership and Achievement.