Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan have welcomed the announcement that Ireland will host the 2026 Global Bioeconomy Summit (GBS 2026).

The announcement was made earlier today (Friday, October 25) at the conclusion of the 2024 summit held in Nairobi, Kenya, following an application by Ireland to host the 2026 summit.

Referring to the announcement, Minister McConalogue said: “This is a major international event which will see Ireland host delegates from around the world, bringing together those working across the bioeconomy.

“It is testament to the work that is going on in Ireland in this area of innovation. As we strive to replace fossil-based resources and processes with biological ones, exciting opportunities emerge, from biofertilisers and biopesticides, to new food sources, biobased plastics and textiles, and biological waste management, to name just a few.

“I was pleased to recently submit an application to host the 2026 Global Bioeconomy Summit with my colleague Minister Ryan. I am delighted to see that this application was successful.”

For his part, Minister Ryan stated: “A sustainable bioeconomy can help Ireland achieve its climate goals, waste targets, and a more circular economy, with a focus on ensuring a just transition, particularly for rural communities, by fostering more sustainable agricultural and food systems.

“Ireland’s bioeconomy is growing, with more people getting involved, as the recent successful sixth annual Bioeconomy Ireland Week has shown.

“The hosting of the GBS 2026 will coincide with the Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union, providing a unique opportunity to showcase the bioeconomy on both the European and global stage.” 

Speaking on behalf of the International Advisory Council on the Global Bioeconomy which organises the Global Bioeconomy Summit, Christine Lang added: “We very much welcome that Ireland is taking on the baton of GBS from East Africa which very successfully hosted the first GBS outside from Germany.

“We are looking forward to working together to again make GBS 2026 the key event on Global Bioeconomy.”

Concluding, Minister McConalogue said: “Our interest in hosting the 2026 Global Bioeconomy Summit is based on a desire to advance and promote the potential for the bioeconomy to contribute to the sustainable development of our rural, coastal and urban areas.

“This builds on the publication by government of the first ever National Bioeconomy Plan”.

Global Bioeconomy Summit

The Global Bioeconomy Summit is an international conference for the global bioeconomy, held bi- or tri-annually since 2015.

Its purpose is to bring together policy makers, industry, academia, and other stakeholders to discuss developments for a sustainable and circular global bioeconomy

Hosting the summit in 2026 is an opportunity for Ireland to showcase the country’s advances in the bioeconomy to a global audience, focusing on how the bioeconomy is a tool for tackling climate change, decarbonising, and facilitating the just transition to more sustainable agricultural and food systems.

The Global Bioeconomy Summits of the past have attracted more than 700 people for in-person events, from over 70 countries.