Adam McGibbon

McGibbon was born in Belfast in 1988 and attended Lagan College, Northern Ireland’s first integrated school, and Queen’s University Belfast.{{Cite web|last=Corr|first=Shauna|date=2021-05-13|title=Belfast man wins award for convincing UK Government to stop funding fossil fuels|url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/belfast-man-who-convinced-uk-20592819|access-date=2021-09-22|website=BelfastLive|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2012-12-14|title=Northern Ireland remains sectarian and without political leadership {{!}} Adam McGibbon|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/14/northern-ireland-sectarian-divide|access-date=2021-09-23|website=The Guardian|language=en}} 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.{{Cite web|title=BBC News {{!}} Election 2010 {{!}} Constituency {{!}} Belfast South|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/703.stm|access-date=2021-09-22|website=news.bbc.co.uk}}{{Cite news|title=Constituency profile: South Belfast|language=en-GB|work=belfasttelegraph|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/constituency-profile-south-belfast-28532073.html|access-date=2021-09-22|issn=0307-1235}} The Greens' Clare Bailey later won the corresponding Northern Ireland Assembly seat.{{Cite web|last=i-team|date=2016-06-01|title='I was made homeless because I didn't know the rules'|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/i-made-homeless-i-didnt-know-rules-9127|access-date=2021-09-24|website=inews.co.uk|language=en}}

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.{{Cite web|title=Student activist graduates to campaigning position|url=https://belfastmedia.com/student-activist-graduates-to-campaigning-position|access-date=2021-09-24|website=Belfast Media Group|language=en}}{{Cite news|date=2011-09-08|title=Northern Ireland university tuition fees frozen|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-14843377|access-date=2021-09-22}}{{Cite web|last=McGibbon|first=Adam|date=2020-01-27|title=Opinion: Why raising tuition fees would be a big fight to pick|url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/raising-tuition-fees-would-big-17618058|access-date=2021-09-23|website=BelfastLive|language=en}} As of 2020, this campaign had saved Northern Ireland university students £1 billion in tuition fees compared to English students.{{Cite news|title=Northern Ireland students saved £1bn thanks to tuition fees campaign|language=en-GB|work=belfasttelegraph|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/northern-ireland-students-saved-1bn-thanks-to-tuition-fees-campaign-39694383.html|access-date=2021-09-22|issn=0307-1235}}

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.{{Cite web|title=Ashcroft Poll: Clear lead for Green MP Caroline Lucas {{!}} The Green Party|url=https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2014/12/19/ashcroft-poll-clear-lead-for-caroline/|access-date=2021-09-22|website=www.greenparty.org.uk}} 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.{{Cite web|last=sianberry|date=2015-07-16|title=London Green Party hires Caroline Lucas' campaign manager to steer Mayoral and Assembly bid|url=https://london.greenparty.org.uk/2015/07/16/london-green-party-hires-caroline-lucas-campaign-manager-to-steer-mayoral-and-assembly-bid/|access-date=2021-09-22|website=London Green Party|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|date=2016-05-07|title=The Green Party won a surprisingly huge number of votes in the London Mayoral elections|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/london-mayoral-election-results-green-party-sian-berry-second-preference-votes-a7018031.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220506/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/london-mayoral-election-results-green-party-sian-berry-second-preference-votes-a7018031.html |archive-date=6 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-22|website=The Independent|language=en}}{{cbignore}} 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.{{Cite web|title=Adam McGibbon|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/adammcg/|website=www.Linkedin.com}}

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.{{Cite news|last=Castle|first=Stephen|date=2020-12-12|title=U.K. to Halt Subsidies for Fossil Fuel Projects Abroad|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/world/europe/UK-fossil-fuel-subsidies.html|access-date=2021-09-22|issn=0362-4331}} 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.{{Cite web|title=UK Overseas Fossil Fuels Campaign > Sheila McKechnie Foundation|url=https://smk.org.uk/awards_nominations/ukoverseasfossilfuelscampaign/|access-date=2021-09-22|website=Sheila McKechnie Foundation|language=en-GB}} 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.{{Cite web|last=Corr|first=Shauna|date=2021-11-04|title=Belfast man's fossil fuel divestment campaign leads to major COP26 breakthrough|url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/cop26-belfast-mans-fossil-fuel-22066749|access-date=2021-11-18|website=BelfastLive|language=en}}{{Cite news|title=Climate hero Adam McGibbon secures Biden buy-in to $15bn green deal|language=en-GB|work=belfasttelegraph|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/climate-hero-adam-mcgibbon-secures-biden-buy-in-to-15bn-green-deal-41048787.html|access-date=2021-11-18|issn=0307-1235}}

McGibbon was the inaugural winner of the Spirit of Northern Ireland ‘Climate Hero’ award in 2021.{{Cite news|title=Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards 2021: Adam forces Boris to act on fossil fuels|language=en-GB|work=belfasttelegraph|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/events/spirit-northern-ireland-awards/spirit-of-ni-awards-2021-adamforcesboris-to-act-on-fossilfuels-40786431.html|access-date=2021-09-22|issn=0307-1235}}

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.{{Cite web|title=Adam McGibbon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/adam-mcgibbon|access-date=2021-09-22|website=The Guardian|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Adam McGibbon {{!}} The Guardian, The Independent, The Times Journalist {{!}} Muck Rack|url=https://muckrack.com/adam-mcgibbon|access-date=2021-09-22|website=muckrack.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Adam McGibbon|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/author/adam-mcgibbon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326154727/http://www.independent.co.uk/author/adam-mcgibbon |archive-date=2017-03-26 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-22|website=The Independent|language=en}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGibbon, Adam}}

Category:Writers from Belfast

Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast

Category:Environmentalists from Northern Ireland

Category:Living people

Category:Male journalists from Northern Ireland

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:People educated at Lagan College

Category:Green Party Northern Ireland politicians

Category:21st-century journalists from Northern Ireland

Category:Politicians from Belfast