Media

Press office

Opportunity Green works closely with the media to raise awareness about how law, economics and policy can be used to achieve climate justice.

Our experienced spokespeople can provide expert commentary about decarbonisation in a range of sectors including shipping, aviation, buildings, hydrogen, climate action in Ireland and environmental taxation.

Who to contact

If you’re a journalist or a member of the media, please contact:

Hannah Jolliffe (she/her) | Communications Manager

+44 (0)7861646643 | media@opportunitygreen.org

Please note: Opportunity Green works a four-day week and our working days are Monday to Thursday.

Our spokespeople

  • Aoife O'Leary

    CEO & FOUNDER

    Aoife is the founder and CEO of Opportunity Green. A lawyer and economist with deep environmental expertise, she founded Opportunity Green to realise her vision of working closely with governments, other NGOs and industry around the world to seize on the opportunities that come with solving the climate crisis. Aoife Is also a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London’s Department of Political Economy.

    Aoife is experienced at giving press interviews for print, broadcast and podcasts. Recent press appearances include:

    Financial Times: An op-ed asking ‘Why are we wasting our limited supply of green hydrogen?’

    Financial Times: An interview putting forward a view for stricter regulation and taxation of the shipping sector.

    BBC Radio 4’s Rethink Climate podcast: Aoife was on the panel of this episode on green technology and innovation.

    CGTN Europe: A live TV interview on China Global Television Network. Aoife gave her views on the goals set for international shipping at the IMO meetings.

    TradeWinds: An op-ed and podcast talking about our report on the IMO’s legal remit on regulating the full life cycle of fuels.

    Irish Mirror: Aoife was interviewed by the Irish Mirror about our partnership with the Travel Smart Ranking 2023 and why some of Ireland’s biggest companies need to do more to reduce their corporate travel emissions.

    Aoife’s specialist subjects include: environmental policy and law; hydrogen as a climate solution; the climate impact of transport; climate policy especially in Ireland, the EU and at the international level; specialist expertise on the environmental impact of shipping & aviation; being a female founder and what businesses can do to reduce the gender pay gap

  • Carly Hicks

    CHIEF STRATEGY AND IMPACT OFFICER & LEGAL DIRECTOR

    A lawyer by trade, Carly is the Legal Director at Opportunity Green. Carly trained at an international law firm before working as an energy lawyer at the National Grid, supporting the decarbonisation of the UK electricity system. Carly started her career as an MEP advisor in the European Parliament, specialising in energy, the environment and fisheries. She loves the chance her role provides to apply her legal skills to her passion for fighting climate change.

    Carly is experienced at giving press interviews for print. Recent press appearances include:

    The Guardian: Carly was interviewed and quoted in an in-depth article in The Guardian about Opportunity Green’s submission to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

    Fathom World podcast: An in-depth interview for the Aronnax podcast on how Opportunity Green’s submission to the ITLOS Tribunal could affect shipping’s decarbonisation policies.

    Fathom World: Carly was interviewed by Fathom World on how the IMO must open up climate deliberations.

    • Shipping Trade Press: Carly has been quoted in a range of publications on our submission to ITLOS, including Safety4Sea and Bunkerspot.

    Carly’s specialist subjects include: the law and climate change in the UK and EU, including climate change litigation and regulation; the power of the law as an advocacy tool; and the law in different sectors, such as energy law, shipping law, aviation law, fisheries law, and general international law.

  • Ana Laranjeira

    SENIOR MANAGER, INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING POLICY

    Ana is the Shipping Manager at Opportunity Green, focusing on shipping decarbonisation. Her background includes international maritime decarbonisation within the International Maritime Organization, climate diplomacy, and just transition policy, having worked both in government and civil society.

    Ana is experienced at giving press interviews for print. Recent press appearances include:

    TradeWinds: Op-ed on the importance of an international shipping levy.

    The Guardian: Ana provided expert commentary about whether the agreement reached by the International Maritime Organization will decarbonise the shipping sector.

    Climate Home News: In this article about the options for funding climate programmes being discussed in Paris, Ana analyses the idea of a new shipping levy.

    The Diplomat: Ana provided insight for coverage of our recent seminar on IMO GHG developments hosted with the Royal Thai Embassy in London.

    • Shipping trade press: Ana has been quoted in a range of shipping trade press titles, talking about the IMO’s role in shipping’s energy transition, including TradeWinds, Splash 247, Ship & Bunker, Bunkerspot, Safety4Sea, ship.energy and gCaptain.

    Ana’s specialist subjects include: International Maritime Organization GHG negotiations; just and equitable transition; and market-based measures for shipping decarbonisation.