Part 2 or our talk with Tierney George - a graduate transport engineer at GHD, she is passionate about creating a safe, efficient and sustainable transport future

She wrote a thesis entitled, "The contribution of zero emission vehicles in meeting Queensland’s carbon targets". The reason that this is an important topic is that transport is one of the top three polluting sectors in Australia. However, Tierney in her thesis tells us that emerging technology such as electric vehicles and hydrogen fuels may assist in changing this scenario.

Her project sought to answer the question of if and how Queensland can reach zero transport emissions by 2050, with a particular emphasis on the impact of electric passenger and low emission freight vehicles. It investigated whether it was possible for Queensland to eliminate transport tailpipe emissions by 2050. It was confirmed that the goal could not be achieved under business as usual conditions, and that government controls on vehicle sales and registrations would be required. To attain near complete emission abatement by 2050, sales of light internal combustion vehicles would need to cease by 2030. Similarly, the sale of heavy vehicles with internal combustion engines would need to end by 2035, with the remaining ICVs in the 2050 fleet to be de-registered.

She recommends at the end "that policy makers consider boosting investment in the electrification offreight vehicles as well as the industry sectors that underpin the development of a successful hydrogen fuelled fleet." As well, future studies may consider repeating this process for the remaining vehicle categories,motorcycles, buses, and non-freight trucks, to develop a complete profile for the entire roadfleet. Further, the work may be adapted for non-road transport.

It was a very interesting interview - Follow us on @lifeonplaneta on Instagram and Facebook and our website lifeonplanetapodcast.com.au

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