Carbon & Nature Forum Ireland 2026

To write the next chapter of Ireland’s climate and nature transition, capital, commitments and conviction must align. This is a focused event for those ready to move ahead of the curve.

Designed as a gathering of senior decisionmakers, the Carbon and Nature Forum 2026 brings together 150 public, private and practitioner leaders from across business, government, finance and enterprise to accelerate credible carbon and nature impact at scale. Curated by BE IMPACTFUL, hosted by Trinity Business & Nature Hub and delivered by Climate Cocktail Club, this is a focused convening for those ready to move ahead of the curve.

As 2030 targets approach and EU obligations increasingly shape markets, the question is no longer whether the transition will happen, but who will shape it. From carbon markets and nature finance to blended capital and demand drivers such as Net Zero, Nature Positive and CORSIA, we will explore the real mechanisms already mobilising finance in Ireland and internationally. And those that need to be supported and scaled.

Expect sharp insight on demand and supply, candid dialogue across sectors, and direct engagement with project leaders delivering impact on the ground. This is not a forum built on declarations. It is a platform to connect capital with credible projects, align policy with delivery and position Ireland as both a source and destination for high-integrity climate and nature finance.

Designed as a curated, senior gathering, the forum creates space for substantive conversation, strategic connection and practical commitment. If the transition is to be managed rather than imposed, it will be shaped by those willing to step into rooms like this one. Plus... some jazz hands from the Climate Cocktail Club unlocks the conversation to move the agenda and action forward (helped by live music from Jack McHugh, folk-singing guitar-slinging songwriting Animator from Kilkenny).

SPEAKERS

• Tom Popple, CEO, BE IMPACTFUL & Climate Cocktail Club

• Annie Leeson, CEO & Co-Founder, Agricarbon

• Anna Hickey, Partner, Philip Lee LLP

• Ciarán Forde, Business Development Manager, Wilderway

• Martina von Richter, Executive Director, Verdama Earth

• Patrick Fitzgerald, Principal, Hutchins Climate Capital

• David Scanlon, Director, Resolve Partners (Panel Host)

• Catherine Farrell, Assistant Professor in Business & Nature, Trinity College Dublin

• Lisa Fitzsimons, Strategy & Sustainability Lead, IMMA – Irish Museum of Modern Art

• Philip Murphy, Foundation Lead, Lifes2good Foundation

• Orlaith Delargy, Impact Delivery Lead, BE IMPACTFUL

EVENT SCHEDULE

1145 - Registration + networking + light lunch + live music with Jack McHugh

1230 - Keynote: welcome address - the case for action on carbon and nature: Tom Popple

1245 - Fireside: exploring demand - drivers, sources and specifications: Annie Leeson, Anna Hickey (+1 more Corporate/Buyer)

1315 - Fireside: exploring supply - options, standards, approaches, barriers and needs: Ciarán Forde, Patrick Fitzgerald, Martina von Richter

1345 - Panel: building impact coalitions - David Scanlon (Host), Lisa Fitzsimons (Culture), Catherine Farrell (Science), Philip Murphy (Philanthropy) (+1 Corporate/Finance)

1425 - Dialogue: audience activation -  David Scanlon (Host), open call for audience shout-outs (stop/less, start/more or want/need)

1445- Closing remarks: Tom Popple, Orlaith Delargy

1455 - Close + networking

WHY ATTEND

Because this is where insight, influence, investment and inspiration intersect and where your voice helps shape what comes next. This event will convene 150 leaders to mobilise finance and ambition, backing high-integrity climate and nature impact in Ireland and internationally.

What makes this event different:

• Curated, senior audience with decision-making influence.

• Focused on mobilisation of finance and demand, not declarations.

• Cross-sector by design, including culture and civil society.

• Grounded in integrity, climate justice and delivery.

• Interactive sessions with audience participation.

• Neutral venue with no hidden agenda.

TICKETS

Attendance is free. A suggested ticket price of €35/person (excl. VAT) is available for contributions to event costs. Any surplus funds will be distributed to bold entities driving carbon and nature impact in Ireland and internationally – Hometree, Vita Impact and Climate Cocktail Club.

PARTNERS

We are proud to be supported by our event partners. Contact us to support the mission and become a partner. We need your sponsorship to ensure our events are successful. For this event please reach out to louise@be-impactful.com.

CURATED BY

BE IMPACTFUL

INDEPENDENT ADVISORY FOR CLIMATE, NATURE AND COMMUNITY IMPACT. We unleash changemakers with the insights, solutions and partnerships they need to reach set goals. We supercharge purpose-driven brands, organisations and social enterprises across the world. We are honest, transparent and fiercely independent. We strive for a just, equitable and thriving planet. We design, develop and deliver high-integrity carbon, nature and community programmes that create credible impact and build enterprise value.

HOST PARTNER

TRINITY BUSINESS & NATURE HUB

The Trinity Business & Nature Hub brings together research leaders and educators committed to advancing business as a force for nature-positive impact. It draws on expertise from Trinity Business School and the School of Natural Sciences to explore how enterprise, finance and governance can accelerate biodiversity restoration and climate resilience. At its core is a shared belief that business must move beyond mitigation and towards regeneration. The Hub connects academic research with practical delivery, translating ecological science, economic thinking and market design into models that work in the real world.

The collaboration is led by Catherine Farrell, Jane Stout and Martha O’Hagan, whose work across ecology, sustainability and enterprise bridges science, policy and practice. Their collective perspective ensures that conversations about business and finance remain grounded in ecological integrity and long-term systems thinking.

The Hub’s ethos is encapsulated in the “Business for Nature Positive” undergraduate module, which challenges current and future leaders to understand nature not as an externality, but as foundational infrastructure, and the MSc in Responsible Business and Sustainability, that trains postgraduate students in both natural sciences and business approaches. Through research, education and convening, the Hub supports the development of business models and financial mechanisms that restore ecosystems while strengthening economic resilience.

As host of the Carbon and Nature Forum, the Trinity Business & Nature Hub provides an academic and intellectual anchor, ensuring that ambition is matched by evidence and that capital is aligned with credible ecological outcomes.

IMPACT PARTNER

VITA IMPACT

Vita Impact is the forum’s Impact Partner, offsetting the event’s carbon footprint through its clean cooking and water infrastructure programmes in Ethiopia and Eritrea. These projects reduce emissions, restore ecosystems and strengthen livelihoods, demonstrating how high-integrity carbon finance can deliver measurable climate and community impact. Vita Impact’s Green Impact Fund exemplifies Irish innovation in high-integrity carbon finance, mobilising capital for clean cooking and water infrastructure aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals while positioning Ireland as a centre for climate-led, community-focused impact investment.

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

PHILIP LEE LLP

Philip Lee LLP is one of Ireland’s leading corporate and commercial law firms, with offices in Dublin, Cork, London and New York. We advise businesses in Ireland and internationally across a broad range of key practice areas, including corporate and M&A, energy, construction, real estate, climate projects, media and technology.

Philip Lee LLP is ranked a Global Market Leader in Climate Change by Chambers, the only Irish firm to achieve this status. Our award-winning Climate Projects team is the largest private practice legal team of its kind in the world, with nine lawyers dedicated exclusively to climate project development and finance.  Philip Lee is a market leader in energy transition, including renewables, planning and environmental, and project finance.  

Our clients include project developers, investors, financial institutions, commodity trading firms and governments working to mitigate climate change. The firm has been awarded VCM Law Firm of the Year 2023, 2024 and 2025 by Environmental Finance.

RESOLVE PARTNERS

At Resolve, we back bold climate entrepreneurs. Through hands-on programmes and our early-stage investment fund, we help founders scale solutions that tackle the toughest decarbonisation challenges—with the urgency this moment demands.

BRAND PARTNER

THINKHOUSE

THINKHOUSE is one of the world’s leading independent agencies. Powered by youth culture, its digital-first, future-fit marketing is for progressive brands that care about people and planet. The company transforms and empowers organisations and teams by helping shift mindsets and adopt new ways of looking at the world - through the lens of the next generation. THINKHOUSE’s innovative, creative work is a vehicle for change, born out of its mission to have a positive impact on the lives of younger generations, now and into the future. www.thinkhousehq.com

COLLABORATORS

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CAPITAL LLP

Founded in 2007, Sustainable Development Capital LLP (“SDCL”) is one of the most established and innovative investment firms in the sustainability markets and is unique in its dedicated focus on efficient and decentralized energy solutions. SDCL’s core strategy is to develop and invest in sustainable energy infrastructure assets that reduce cost and carbon and improve reliability. The Firm has a long and proven track record in delivering solutions for major technology, healthcare, commercial, industrial, and public sector clients, such as enterprise and hyper-scale data centres, hospitals, heavy and light industrial facilities, universities, warehouses, and hotels. SDCL deploys a wide range of commercially proven technologies such as on-site renewables including solar paired with storage, renewable heat, and cogeneration, as well as energy conservation measures such as LED lighting, energy efficient heating and cooling, motors, building management systems and controls. SDCL’s infrastructure investment capabilities cover all stages of the project development lifecycle, from concept to long term operations. In addition to project investments, SDCL has launched a private equity division to invest growth equity capital in the best companies providing products and services to the EDGE markets. SDCL is headquartered in London and the group, and its investment vehicles also operate from offices in New York, Greenwich, Dublin, Hong Kong, and Singapore.  SDCL is authorized and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.

SUSTAINABILITYEXAMPLES.COM

We help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) driving climate action (Doers) gain more visibility, greater recognition, and a faster ROI for their sustainability initiatives by providing a dedicated platform where they can launch, share, and compete for prominence through community engagement with climate-conscious supporters (Champions).

B LAB IRELAND

B Lab Ireland is part of a global nonprofit network that creates economic systems change through standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and certifies companies—known as B Corps™—who are leading the way. B Corps are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Globally there are now over 9,600 B Corps in 100+ countries, across 160 industries, employing over 960,000 people.

LUGGALA ESTATE