Hosted by the US Studies Centre in partnership with the NSW Government, the conference brought together experts from the US and Australia from the military, business, government and the scientific communities to address the progress being made towards delivering sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels to the transportation market.

The event focused on a range of strategies to secure a low carbon future that are already working in the United States, including electric cars and driverless vehicles, sustainable aviation fuels and drop-in alternatives to diesel. It also addressed the fact that Australia is falling behind the rest of the world in producing low carbon transport fuel and is overly reliant on foreign oil.

Centre Adjunct Professor in Sustainability, Dr Susan Pond, who convened the conference, said that the speakers represented the leading edge of global innovation. “We desperately need to introduce low carbon alternatives into our transport fuel mix if we want to ensure low carbon emissions and energy security in the coming years,” she said.

“Our counterparts in the US have demonstrated time and time again how to implement sustainable, value-for-money solutions that can be adapted here without the need for subsidies, new taxes, or handouts. Our challenge is to embrace them.”

The program and speakers presentations can be accessed below.

Speakers

Richard Altman, Executive Director Emeritus, Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative

Hugh Bradlow, Chief Scientist, Telstra Corporation

Paul Bryan, Lecturer, University of California Berkeley

Bruce Godfrey, Energy Forum Chair, Australian Academy of Technology, Science and Engineering

Tony Haymet, Visiting fellow, United States Studies Centre and Director & Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego

Robert Hill, Adjunct Professor in Sustainability, United States Studies Centre

Jim Lane, Editor and Publisher, The Digest

Hugo Llorens, US Consul General, Sydney

Scott Nargar, Product Planning Manager, Hyundai Motor Company, Australia

Susan Pond, Adjunct Professor in Sustainability, United States Studies Centre

Amy Kean, Renewable Energy Advocate, NSW Department of Trade and Investment

Margaret Sewell, Head of Taskforce, Energy White Paper, Australian Government

Joelle Simonpietri, Operational Manager, Energy and Contingency Basing And Deputy, US Pacific Command Energy Team