
🇨🇳 🇮🇪 A pleasure to meet DDG Liu Fuxue to sign MOU between Asia Matters & China International Import Export Bureau. 127 countries will join CIIE in Shanghai 5-1O Nov for est. biz transactions of $73.52B , presenting a great opportunity for Irish cos @Declanjahughes1 @ciieonline
🙏🏽 Amidst great feedback on our 9th Cork Summit, full 👏 to all the truly professional people backstage who make it happen. None better than Louise Byrne @MTU_ie & my colleague Samantha Hobbs @asiamatters_biz @Maggie_Cusack @gerard_odonovan @JohnForde6 @market1788 @mmcgrathtd
🇮🇪 is blessed with beautiful nature nearby everywhere. Nothing better after a busy work week than to locally enjoy what 🇯🇵 calls shinrin yoku ‘ forest bathing ‘🌳💦 🌳#nature #biodiversity #forest #woodlands
Food security, agri innovation & tech lies at heart of climate adaptation capacity for vulnerable countries like 🇵🇰. Visit to Farm zero C with science based & data driven interventions 4animal health, soil nutrients could be great 4 🇵🇰dairy industry
@betterpakistan @HinaRKhar

Day One – Thursday 25 May
12.00 – 13.30 | Ireland’s Role in Global Food Sustainability and InnovationVenue: Carbery Group, Ballineen, West Cork. Welcome by Alan Dukes, Chair Asia Matters and a Former Irish Minister for Agriculture. Expert Panel led by Jason Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer, Carbery Group chaired by Pádraig Brennan, Food Lead Asia Matters and Founder, Padraig Brennan Consulting Panel 1: Global / EU /Asia Policy Perspective Jason Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer, Carbery Group, Bill Callanan, Assistant Secretary – Chief Inspector & Environmental Lead, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, H.E Trevor Mallard, Ambassador of New Zealand, Ryan George, Sector Manager – Consumer Dairy, Bord Bia. Panel 2: Innovating to Deliver World Leading Sustainable Food Systems Alexa Toomey – Head of Sustainability, Renewable Energy & Agtech, Enterprise Ireland, Dr Micheal O’Mahony, Chief Specialist Veterinary Public Health, Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Sean Mulvany, Senior Investment Manager, Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and Paul Maher, Head of International Relations and Corporate Strategy, Teagasc |
Sustainability and Innovation are at the heart of Ireland’s Food Industry. Origin Green is Ireland’s food and drink sustainability programme managed by Bord Bia , The Irish Food Board. It is the only one in the world which operates at a national level and includes farmers and primary producers, processors and retailers working together to create a better future.Carbery Group is a global food and ingredients leader. Owned by 1200 family-owned farms in West Cork producing premium grass fed cow’s milk , it provides the very best nutritional ingredients, flavours and natural cheeses to customers in 50 countries worldwide. | |
14.00 – 16.00 | Visit to Farm Zero C, Bandon, West CorkIn a world first project for agriculture, Farm Zero C is a collaboration between Carbery, BiOrbic and key partners to create a climate- neutral, economically-viable dairy farm. The project takes a holistic approach, combining a range of technologies and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the productivity and resilience of the farm. Partners: Carbery, BiOrbic, MTU, SFI, UCD, Teagasc, TCD, Grassa. By invitation |
18.30 | Tour of MTU Blackrock Castle Observatory |
19.00 | Partner and Stakeholder Dinner at MTU Blackrock Castle, Cork CityMTU Blackrock Castle Observatory is an award winning science centre and active research observatory. It is the result of an exciting collaboration between Cork City Council and Munster Technological University By invitation |
Day Two – Friday 26 May
08.30 | Registration and Networking Venue: Council Room, Munster Technological University |
09.00 | Welcome Remarks and Opening Address by Professor Maggie Cusack, President, Munster Technological University on The Upskilling Role of Universities in the UN 17 SDGs with response by Professor Patrick Paul Walsh, Vice President of Education, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. |
09.30 | Diplomatic Panel: Driving Global Transformation to a Climate Resilient Worldchaired by Martin Murray, Executive Director, Asia Matters with H.E. He Xiangdong, Ambassador of China, H.E. Dr. Desra Percaya, Ambassador of Indonesia – Indonesia is Chair of ASEAN in 2023. H.E. Aisha Farooqui, Ambassador of Pakistan, H.E. Mohammed Alshamsi, Ambassador of United Arab Emirates. |
The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) held December 2022 in Montreal, Canada was deemed highly successful with a landmark agreement to conserve at least 30 percent of land, freshwater and ocean globally by 2030, and restore 30 percent of degraded land. China, as Chair committed to invest RMB 1.5 billion (almost €200m) to establish the Kunming Biodiversity Fund. COP 28, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change takes place from November 30 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The UAE plans to prioritise climate finance, triple renewable energy generation, double low-carbon hydrogen and ensure global food system resilience through greater investment in agritech combined with smarter water use and food production. | |
10.30 | Key Interview with Michael McGrath TD, Minister for Finance, Ireland by Alan Dukes, Chair Asia Matters |
11.00 | Coffee Break |
11.30 | Business and Investment Panel: Ireland’s Opportunity to Become a Global Leader in Climate Techchaired by Cathal Lee, Co-Founder of Energy Cloud and MD Public Policy, Instinctif Partners with David McGee, & ESG Lead, PwC Ireland, Prof Aoife Foley, Chair Net Zero, University of Manchester, Marc O’Connor, General Manager, Mitsui, Ireland, Donal Daly CEO Future Planet. |
The climate crisis has necessitated creative industry deeptech solutions combining innovative academic research with new IOT and AI data and energy technologies to protect our planet, people and prosperity. Our panel talks on business opportunities, investing and innovation. | |
12.15 | Industry Panel: The Journey to Become a Climate Neutral EU Mission Citychaired by Martin Murray, Executive Director, Asia Matters with Sean Gayer, VP Operations, Boston Scientific, Barbara Anne Richardson, Sustainability and Public Affairs Manager, Heineken Ireland Albert Ballbé, Lead, Working Group on Green Hydrogen, AER The Assembly of European Regions, Xavier Dubuisson, Chief Executive Officer, Retrokit |
EU urban areas are home to 75% of our citizens. Globally, urban areas consume over 65% of the world’s energy, accounting for more than 70% of CO2 emissions. The strong commitment of Cork City to Climate Action was endorsed internationally when selected to participate in the EU 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission. In the journey of a city as an innovation ecosystem on the path towards climate neutrality by 2030, companies will play a vital role. Our panel will discuss the challenges, opportunities and learning from this innovation journey. | |
13.00 | Closing Remarks followed by Networking Lunch Speaker: Cllr. Danny Collins, The Mayor of the County of Cork |
